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BOOK REVIEW Book Review


NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS, NEW BOOK!


never know what you might find to excite the mind and warm the soul. So for me this is the perfect opportunity to venture out into the unknown with a new book from a new author. To help you along the way I’ve scoured the lists, the reviews and the bookshelves to give you a taste of what debut novels are out there. There are sure to be some that promise greater things to come - so, take a punt and try something new! i understand that a first published novel is not necessarily the author’s first attempt - robert louis Stevenson had at least 10 false starts to Treasure Island and few have the luck and success of Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights. First up - is Lost and Found by Tom Winter (Corsair h/b £12.99).


I


like to think Spring is the time to start something new - the daffodils are arriving and there are buds everywhere and you


by Emma Jones


Focusing on the extraordinary lives of ordinary people the book has tones reminiscent of the bestselling The Unusual Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry. The story revolves around 2 characters - a postman and a woman trapped in a loveless marriage. When Albert, the widowed postman is forced to the section of the Post office where they sort undeliverable mail he is drawn to Carol’s letters, which have just a smiley face on the envelopes instead of an address. On going to press I was only able to read the first few chapters but to that point it was an enchanting, easy read, which cleverly combines laughter and tears with well-


drawn characters and poignant and real situations. The book receiving much attention at the moment is The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence. (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd HB £14.99). It’s hotly tipped by all the press and has been described as the new Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time. It’s a quirky tale, funny and heartbreaking and above all uplifting - an important factor in my opinion. “This is the tale of an unexpected


friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbably journey with the protagonist, Alex, following a journey which treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears.” The story begins with an unusual situation ‘Alex is stopped at


Dover customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he’s fairly sure he’s done the right thing.... Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (Pan Books p/b £7.99) is a “deeply touching tale of an unlikely friendship in the face of tragedy. A stunning debut novel that had publishers fighting over it..” www.lovereading.co.uk. The book


has already done well in the US with recommendations from The Wall Street Journal and the influential oprah. I couldn’t resist including this book as it has its own Devon connection: the author though originally from New York has now settled near Dartmoor with her family. The novel is about family, friendship, love, life and death - so pretty much all topics touched there then! This coming-of-age story begins in the 80s with June, the teenage narrator dealing with her much-loved uncle’s death from Aids. Following the funeral she starts up a strange and tense friendship with Toby, a stranger she meets at her uncle’s funeral. If you liked Armistead Maupin’s ‘Tales of the City’ series of books this tender novel could be for you. It’s ultimately a ‘hopeful’ book, both moving and original which takes you back in time to an unforgettable era. I can’t talk about debut novels without mentioning the winner of the latest Costa First Novel Awards - The Innocents by Francesca Segal (Vintage, p/b £7.99). The judges said “it is a perfect miniature of the world it portrays... it felt hard to believe that this affectionate, witty novel was the author’s first”. The author’s credentials are impressive. She is the daughter of a novelist and an editor and has already written the Debut Fiction Column for 3 years in the Observer. This is a very modern love


story, which tells the age-old tale of love, temptation, confusion, commitment, and coming to terms with the choices we’ve made. Set in Jewish North London comparisons have been made to C Zadie Smith and Monica Ali. And a few days for the bookie diary: World Book Day on Thursday 7


March. The event aims to help children to explore the pleasure of books with the distribution of £1 book tokens through schools and nurseries. These can then be exchanged for any one of eight special World Book Day titles. www.worldbookday.com. But don’t forget you must use them by 24th March 2013 so hurry on down to the Community Bookshop in Dartmouth! And check out the website www.worldbookday.com to see what else is on offer. And if you feel like trying something else new.....how about joining a book club - the library at the Flavel has several on the go and they seem to be popping up everywhere. If you want to go one step further how about a walking book club (as discussed recently by Claire Balding on Radio 4’s Ramblings) - the fresh sea air will no doubt add something new as well as a fresh approach. It’s amazing what a bit of fresh air can do. and another first which could be worth a try is: Chagword


- Chagfords’ First Literary Festival 15 - 17 March 2013. The organisers have enticed some of the finest authors, novelists, nature writers, historians, journalists, poets and performers to share their passions and to celebrate through the written, the spoken, and the musically delivered word! They have an impressive and mixed line-up including Kathy Lette, Philip Reeve, A L Kennedy, Kate Mosse and Jonathan Dimbleby, www. chagword.com


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