In our house Christmas isn’t Christmas without local pantomime. As part of our Christmas countdown every year we try to see a local show and clearly we’re all expert in what we expect and demand from our Christmas viewing. We want slapstick, water pistols, in-jokes about football teams, ghosts, smoke machines and custard pies. We want to be screaming out ‘Oh no it isn’t’ and ‘He’s behind you’ and possibly to partake in a bit of audience participation in the form of a song (with actions). So this year we braved the snow and travelled to New Brighton (on the Wirral) for the Floral Pavilion’s performance of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.

This Christmassy viewing was part of ‘The Great Panto Review 2009′ and I’d very (very) much appreciate it if you’d nip OVER HERE and read my full review of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.

( ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ by Muriel Barbery, was my book of last year and was one of the reviews lost when my old blog was deleted earlier this year. I hope you don’t mind my posting it here again, as I talk about the author and her first novel, ‘Gourmet’)

‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ is a story told through two voices. The first, Renée, is the concierge of a magnificent apartment building, housing some from the higher classes of Paris. Her description of herself is unsympathetic. She is fifty-four, short, ugly, plump and with bunions on her feet. Renée has developed a persona, adopted a stereotypical manner to fit with how the inhabitants of her building expect her to behave. Yet, beneath this cleverly formed mask, Renée is intelligent, cultured and intuitive. Through a voice that is delicate, rich, sharp and subtle, she observes her advantaged or rather superficial neighbours. Renée pretends to be uneducated, inferior, to match with the expectations of the higher class who live in the building, `to perpetuate the charade of social hierarchy’. She observes the lacking politeness towards her and offers a critique of the higher classes, the conforming to stereotypes, the chosen learning that is recited and never fully understood.

There is a clear sense that although performing a persona that is expected of her, that protects her, behind the closed door Renée has an emotional and cultural depth that the other, more privileged, could never reach.  I am left considering that sometimes in life we go into situations with expectations, with an inability to see beyond masks and into true beings. There are many who go through life with prejudices that never allow truth and individuality to shine. Beyond convention, beyond exteriors, beneath the mask, there is often so much more.

The second voice contrasts and enhances from some floors up within the same apartment building. Twelve year old Paloma Josse is one of the privileged, yet she is disillusioned and keen to avoid an indulged and inane future and so she is planning to commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday. Paloma has advanced intelligence and as she plans her suicide, she offers profound thoughts in her diary. Like Renée, Paloma is also living a life filled with deception, masking her actual intelligence but the reasons for this contrast with those of Renée. Through her words, we hear Paloma’s views on the inhabitants and on her parents, all with sharp and gifted observation. She offers a social conscience, questioning the empty intelligence of those around her.

For me, the story lifts to a perfect level with an unexpected death and an unexpected sale of an apartment in the building. The arrival of the Japanese Monsieur Kakuro Ozu causes quite a stir. For me, from p139 the story almost restarts with a renewed force, with the clever twisting together of lives and the moving of the plot onto a hugely satisfying level.

The delicacy and the beauty in this novel comes from the joining of Renée, of Kakuro and of Paloma. As Kakuro ignores social hierarchy and sees beneath Renée’s mask, there is a sense of nakedness and of purity. He challenges social prejudice and his ability to see true, inner beauty is a gift. There is a belief that when you see into a person’s soul, then your connection is blessed.

This is a truly delicate and beautiful story of friendship across class and across generation. The ending left me in tears.

‘The Gourmet’ is French novelist Barbery’s first novel.  It is clever, crafted and a story that still has Renée as the concierge of the magnificent apartment building, but this is about a new main character (who just happens to live there).

France’s greatest food critic is dying, after a lifetime in single-minded pursuit of sensual delights. But as Pierre Arthens lies on his death bed, he is tormented by an inability to recall the most delicious food to ever pass his lips, which he ate long before becoming a critic. Desperate to taste it one more time, he looks back over the years to see if he can pin down the elusive dish. Revealing far more than his love of great food, the narration by this larger-than-life individual alternates with the voices of those closest to him and their own experiences of the man.

There is no doubt that the language choices and descriptions within this novel are luscious. Muriel Barbery is such a sensuous storyteller, hiding deeper significances and elusive searches for purpose beneath her characters’ words. There are parts of this story that flummoxed me. I had to reread and absorb several times and at one stage I paused, only to return after having re-read ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’. I felt that I was missing subtleties because of my inadequate recall. I honestly feel that having fresh knowledge of ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ added additional depth and appreciation of ‘The Gourmet’. I was left feeling that it served almost as an appetiser, one to be truly savoured.

Both ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ and ‘The Gourmet’ were translated by Alison Anderson. There is so much within both novels that is lyrical, remarkable, rich and memorable.

You can buy ‘The Gourmet’ HERE and ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ HERE.

… of ‘Thaw’ by Fiona Robyn is

Valerie O’Riordan.

Congratulations Valerie (@valerieoriordan), please do email or DM me your address and the lovely Fiona will send you a signed copy.

(ho, ho, ho)

(Note to reader: I’ve a SIGNED hardback copy of ‘Thaw’ to giveaway and all details can be found at the end of this long (but very interesting) post)

Ruth is thirty two years old and doesn’t know if she wants to be thirty three. Her meticulously-ordered lonely life as a microbiologist is starved of pleasure and devoid of meaning. She decides to give herself three months to choose whether or not to end her life.

Told through a series of diary entries, we read Ruth’s thoughts as she struggles to make sense of her past and grapples with the pain of the present.

‘Thaw’ is clever, engaging and believable, as Ruth explores what makes any of our lives worth living. It is a study of human emotion, brimming with questions, answers and a depth of wisdom that will resonate. It is, without doubt, another thoughtful, moving and utterly delicate read from the very talented Fiona Robyn.

Asking Fiona:

Can you talk us through your whirlwind year, full of fabulous publications. How was the decision made to publish your 3 novels so close together?

It has been quite a year! I had three novels ‘under my belt’ by the time I got the publishing deal with Snowbooks, and it was their decision to get them all out within the year. It’s been a great luxury, as I’ve been able to sit back and continue working on my 4^th novel without having to panic about the time.

How long did each of your 3 novels take to write?

My novels seem to take between one and two years from start to finish, but that varies depending on how much research there is to do, how much else I have going on, and how much I procrastinate. Procrastination can be a killer.

Writers often find redrafting and self-editing difficult. Can you offer any words of wisdom?

I’m lucky as my ‘training’ as a writer was as a poet, and writing poetry is all about drafting, redrafting, and then redrafting again. My advice would be to turn OFF the critic for your first draft, but then to read your work out loud and change the words and the paragraphs about until they sound as ‘right’ as possible. The other essential is to read, read, read – lots and lots of well-written novels, poetry, faction etc. This is how we learn about good quality prose. It gets into your blood.

Who do you feel would be your ideal reader? Is that ideal reader the same for all 3 novels?

I think my books have attracted different types of reader. ‘The Blue Handbag’ is a gently mystery story about a 62 year old gardener called Leonard and is, as someone wrote in a review, a ‘warm bath of a read’. ‘Thaw’ is much darker and more challenging, and may appeal to younger readers. I used to think that my ideal reader was someone who liked literary books and who would think I was clever. That was all about my ego. Since publication I’ve completely changed my mind, and now my ideal reader is anyone who loves my characters as much as I do.

I’ve heard blog-talk about your ‘blogsplash’. What is it and how can people get involved?

As an experiment, I’m going to blog ‘Thaw’ in its entirety a month after its physical publication. It may help sales and it may hinder them! To help get the word out, I’m looking for 1000 bloggers to post the first day of my character Ruth’s diary on the same day as me. I’ve had 181 people sign up so far, so I MIGHT make it. You can find out more here or see who’s already signed up here.

And, finally, (and yes I know that I’ve asked you this before) do you in any way now know Simon Cowell?

Sorry, not yet. Give me another year…

You can buy ‘Thaw’ here.

And, the lovely Fiona Robyn has agreed that I can give away a signed hardback copy of  ‘Thaw’. All you have to do is leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) December 17, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

*

About Fiona: Fiona Robyn is a novelist living in rural Hampshire with her cats and vegetable patch. She’s interesting in growing things, Buddhism, psychotherapy, trashy detective novels, paying attention, blogging, banoffee pie, presents, words, and kittens. Her website is here and she blogs here.

Twitter is a bit magic, (I know, I know, I can hear you scoffing in the back row, yes you, over there) but it really is magic.

Last week I saw a competition on Twitter. Littlest entered and won ‘Christmas Animal Tales’ from Stripes Publishing. It’s a paperback book full of festive animal tales that are short enough to read one each evening (featuring such stars as a little donkey, a naughty kitten, a special reindeer and even a talking turkey) from a host of well-known children’s writers. We’re already fans of Adele Geras and her story ‘Fuzzy’ made me feel utterly Christmassy.  I’ve heard really good things about Holly Webb so am very much looking forward to her story, ‘The Kitten Tree’, tomorrow night.

Stripes Publishing didn’t ask me to review or mention this book on my blog, instead they posted out the book with a special note for Littlest. They made my little girl feel special and a little bit grown up and that, in itself, is worth a blog post just for them.

As I clicked open Twitter on Saturday evening, those in the north-west-area-for-miles-around may have heard a rather loud squeeee. I was greeted by these tweets from Mr Pack:

Now to put some bets on the horses. Wonderful artist Becky Adams coming round later to discuss @Caroline_S book cover design.

She’s doing the cover for Like Bees to Honey by @Caroline_S

@Caroline_S She bought a jar along full of ideas. She has even stitched a Cisk beer can.

Becky Adams is an utterly fabulous artist and I’m thrilled that she’s agreed to design the cover. I can’t (but, clearly, will) wait to see what she creates.

(no pressure, Becky)

(squee!)

Over the last 2 years I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been told that I need to toughen up. I’ve written books, I’m accessible online and the reality is that I really wind some people up (and not in a good way). It’s life, I’m Marmite. For whatever reason, I’m not liked by everyone (shock horror, I know!) but, more importantly, neither is my writing.

Like all playgrounds, you get some people who are more vocal than others and over the last couple of years some have enjoyed expressing their hatred of my books (and me) wherever they can. I’ve lost count of the blog posts and negative reviews about my books (but I always read them each, several times, and they always sting), just as I’ve lost count of the positive ones too.

My personal choice is not to criticise any book I ‘couldn’t get on with’ online and I would never (not ever) write a negative review ‘just because’ I didn’t like the author. I think this is because I genuinely understand the toil, pain and devotion that it takes to write a book and then just how difficult it is to get a publishing deal these days. If I don’t like a book, then I’ll simply not review it. (Hats off to any of us normal folk who manage to get published!)

But I guess what I’ve really learned is that if you write books that are likely to cause reaction (I’m thinking about some of the topics I included in Black Boxes and In Search of Adam), well when those reactions come it’s all about how you deal with the positive and with the negative.

Here’s my take on how to cope with negative reviews:

1. Some people write negative reviews because they have issues with the author.

This for me is the worst type of negative review. The words are full of spite and will not focus on criticising the content of the book. The review is full of sweeping statements and nastiness. It should be ignored, full stop.

2. You can’t ever expect to get all 5 star reviews.

It’s a simple fact, not everyone is going to love your book and it’s right that they don’t. I’d view any all 5 star reviews on Amazon suspiciously (as I would all 1 star reviews).

3. Causing reaction, even if negative, is sometimes good.

The last thing any writer really wants is for someone to read their book and then forget about it forever. Being a bit ‘blah’ isn’t ideal. If someone rips up your book or throws it in the bin, be proud. Causing a reaction should be viewed as a positive (clearly, I am Pollyanna!).

4. People have a right to their opinions and to their personal tastes.

You might not agree, you might want to stamp your feet and cry and email the reviewer and give detailed feedback explaining why their opinions aren’t valid, but you NEVER should. A well written review, that explains judgment, reaction and critiques fairly should be accepted graciously. Stamp your feet in private and then listen to the review.

And, for the sake of balance and because it inspired me to write this post today, when someone I respect says something very lovely about my writing, it makes me feel excited and honoured.

Sometimes this writing game is like a crazy dance that no one quite knows how to explain. You step forward, backwards and often sideways. I guess that one day the dance will stop.

She still isn’t home.

It’s been four weeks now. It’s been four cold and wet weeks and Matilda was, is (which tense should I use?) such a home-loving cat.

I know there’s little hope.

Continuing on from my Blu-ray love-fest and collection building, Think Parents very kindly sent us 3 new Disney Blu-ray Combi Packs to look at. (Seriously, we are utterly lucky!)

First up ‘G-Force’ Combi Pack (this means that there’s a Blu-ray disc and a DVD in the pack, so it’s ideal for building a Blu-ray collection alongside DVDs).

A film about guinea pigs! (only in the world of Disney could it be quite so believable). ‘G-Force’ is honest, family fun, all about an elite team of highly trained guinea pigs on their mission to prevent an evil billionaire from taking over the world (via household appliances!). Middlest and Litttlest were itching to see this film and loved it lots (and no we won’t be getting a guinea pig, no matter how many times Littlest asks (and asks again)). ‘G-Force’ is funny, cute and the special effects are impressive on Blu-ray (we’re talking theatre-quality picture and sound). The Disney Blu-ray disc contains extras, such as the deleted scenes, bloopers, inside the animation lab and music videos. This (simply) is a must-see for any child.

Next the ‘Santa Buddies’ Combi Pack (again, a DVD and Blu-ray disc inside).

Littlest LOVES the Buddies DVDs so much and this was top of her Christmas list. ‘Santa Buddies’ is the latest instalment of Disney’s much-loved Buddies franchise. Those puppy rascals B-Dawg, RoseBud, Buddha, MudBud, and Budderball are off to the North Pole to the magical world of Santa’s Workshop.  The spirit of Christmas is ebbing away, with all of us lot no longer believing and remembering the true meaning of Christmas (‘it’s not about what you get’ is the message that these lovely pups give). It’s left up to the pups and their new friend, Puppy Paws, to save Christmas. ‘Santa Buddies’ is a slice of festive family fun, with extremely cute dogs (some of them sing) and is ideal Christmas viewing. As always, and probably me repeating myself a little bit too much, but the colours, sound and high definition are outstanding on the Blu-ray disc (seeing is believing!)

And finally, ‘Tinker Bell and The Lost Treasure’ Combi Pack. We went to see an exclusive screening of this a couple of months ago and Littlest absolutely loved it.

This really is a magical film and Tink is such a loveable character (with faults, hooray!). In ‘The Lost Treasure’ Tinker Bell has to band together with her fairy friends to create the famous Fall Sceptre – a magical and important task, that will restore the world’s supply of fairy dust and set things right for another year in the fairies’ Never Land home, Pixie Hollow. Of course, Tink’s stubborn ways guide her into trouble and this wonderful film is all about friendship. The Blu-ray disc has an abundance of additional features (a Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow, deleted scenes, the goofs that never made the film) and all in high definition with shimmering colours and sounds. A must-have for any Disney fairy fan.

(And a huge thank you to Katie at Think Parents who is a very lovely Christmas Elf)