JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan

Meet the wedding party:

THE BRIDE AND GROOM
Celine and Luke are meant to get married and live happily ever after. But Celine’s more interested in playing the piano, and Luke’s a serial cheater.

THE BRIDESMAID
Phoebe, Celine’s sister, is meant to finish college and get a real job. Instead she pulls pints, lives with six flatmates, and has no long-term aspirations beyond smoking her millionth cigarette.

THE BEST MAN
Archie, Luke’s best friend and ex-boyfriend, is meant to move up the corporate ladder and on from Luke. Yet he stands where he is, admiring the view.

THE GUEST
Vivian, Luke’s other best friend and other ex, was meant to put up with Luke’s bullshit when they dated. But she didn’t. And now she is contented, methodically observing her friends like ants.

As the wedding approaches and these five lives intersect, each character will find themselves looking for a path to their happily ever after – but does it lie at the end of an aisle?

Naoise Dolan’s The Happy Couple is a rather delectable literary novel exploring love and marriage, family and expectations, as well as fidelity and betrayal. At just over 200 pages long, it’s an accessible and easy read, and highly recommended.

The Happy Couple is centred around a marriage plot, and its descent and collision with reality. Celine and Luke’s engagement is somewhat of a lacklustre, nonchalant moment in their lives. Neither of them seem overly invested in marriage, and yet, once they’re engaged it’s almost like they feel compelled to go through with it.

As the story moves between past and present, we come to understand more about these two characters, as well as the orbit of friends and family that circles them. Cracks begin to show at the engagement party, when Luke goes missing and Celine almost seems willing to ignore the implications of disappearance.

“The party was over and he’d finally phoned. Celine lay on the bed. The guest room was pitch black, so Luke’s voice felt like something she could see. It was more than a sound to her, his speech; it was warm as well, in colour and in heat. It was safe.”

Naoise’s writing style is very stripped back – minimalistic description, making the reader join the dots themselves. There is a strong exploration of character, as in most literary novels, with a suite of memorable people we meet all throughout the story. Some of the characters are wildly unlikeable – Luke, for example – but Naoise still crafts a three-dimensional picture that allows readers to see beyond their imperfections.

“Ever since her conservatoire days, Celine had experienced grave doubts when she compared her own life to Franz Liszt’s. The Hungarian composer had many mistresses, one of whom wrote a scandalous novel about him, and he did just about everything you can do and not die. Then he died, fine, but his music – only where did he find the time?”

Naoise presents bisexuality in the novel with very little fanfare of attention. Both Celine and Luke are bisexual and are surrounded, on more than one occasion, with exes they’ve slept with. However, their sexuality is not made to be a ‘moment’, it simply is who they are, and it’s definitely a positive element to the story.

Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of romanticism to Luke and Celine’s relationship – her career is very well established as a professional pianist, she’s just looking to settle down with someone and enjoy the mundane aspects of life; Luke is a serial cheater who is hoping that marriage to Celine will settle him down and prove him worthy of love. If anything, their relationship feels transactional and so you spend most of the novel wondering if they’ll go through with the wedding.

“There’d never been competition between the sisters, since Celine was four years older and Phoebe didn’t care. A right pair, so they were. Swotty Celine and Phoebe the troll. Beauty and the Beast. Princess and the Frog.”

Sharp and sophisticated, The Happy Couple is an accessible literary novel for reluctant readers, but will mostly please those who love to read family sagas and stories that explore complex relationships. Fans of literary fiction will love this one. Readership skews 30+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Happy Couple
Naoise Dolan
June 2023
Hachette Book Publishers

Wild Card by Simon Rowell

One foggy morning on the banks of the Murray River, a body is found in a burnt-out area of grassland. The heavily tattooed victim, who has suffered two bullet wounds to the head, is identified as Freddie Jones, a bikie from Moama.

Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer is on the case, alongside her trusty service dog, Harry. Although Zoe is determined to track down the murderer, she finds herself stonewalled at every turn—by Freddie’s family, his associates and even the local police. But then a second body is discovered, and soon all bets are off…

Simon Rowell’s latest gripping rural mystery Wild Card is centred around a double homicide, gang warfare and small-town corruption.

Wild Card is a continuation for detective Zoe Mayer and her service dog Harry, who were both introduced in Simon’s previous novel Long Game. No need to be worried if you haven’t read Long Game. Like many other crime writers, you don’t need to read the predecessor to follow the mystery. I hadn’t read Long Game prior to starting Wild Card and it didn’t impede my reading experience at all. The mystery is standalone.

“She and Charlie watched the screen fill with a close-up of Amber’s face, before it panned slowly to the side. A short distance away, behind the girls, they could see a man, about thirty, staring. He appeared to be ducking behind a large shrub. After thirty seconds, the vision shook as Amber and Justine started to scream.”

This particular genre – rural noir or rural crime – is quite saturated in Australia at the moment, but Simon maintains the reader’s interest and presents a compelling set of characters and suspects.

Wild Card will satisfy seasoned crime and thriller readers, following the standard police procedural narrative and keeping readers guessing until the final chapter. What is initially a one-off murder soon leads to a second body, and so the pacing and tension maintains a high level throughout the entire story.

“Harry was entranced but suddenly turned towards the door before leaping off the bed. Then she heard it. Sirens, one after another, becoming louder. Zoe stood up and pulled on a jacket. She grabbed her equipment belt, fastened it around herself, checking her gun was in place, and opened the door.”

Wild Card consists of many notable secondary characters to keep the story interesting – in particular, Zoe’s colleague and partner Charlie, who holds a significant presence in the story.

The novel is anchored by a strong setting – the Echuca/Moama on the Murray River. It’s a small town filled with suspicious characters and long-held secrets. Largely dialogue-driven with a tight plot, Simon has done well to capture the isolated town and a sense of foreboding. The conclusion, in particular, will satisfy readers.

“It was almost dawn when the Forensics team finished their work, with the aid of portable halogen lights that turned the darkness into daylight. They showed Zoe the rake marks that had smoothed the ground around the hole. Her heart had sunk. She knew a killer so organised wouldn’t leave them too many clues.”

Recommended for crime, thriller and mystery readers. Readership skews 20+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Card
Simon Rowell
January 2023
Text Publishing

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.

And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life…

Comedian Bob Mortimer’s debut novel The Satsuma Complex is a madcap comedic crime story, a rather bizarre and fast-paced tale.

Centred around thirty-year-old legal assistant Gary Thorn, who is a rather timid, shy loner, we meet a rather quirky cast of characters when Gary’s colleague is murdered not long after a trip to the pub. What ensues is a rather chaotic, nonsensical journey to find out the killer, as well as uncovering the identity of a mysterious woman that Gary met at the pub.

“My name is Gary. I’m a thirty-year-old legal assistant with a firm of solicitors in London. To describe me as anonymous would be unfair but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity. I did make a good connection with a girl, but that blew up in my face and smacked my arse with a fish slice.”

Written in first-person, the narrative style feels very stream-of-consciousness. Unrestrained and travelling down tangents. I found there was very little introspection, so whilst the characters actions did suggest he was growing as a person – befriending and caring for his neighbour, chasing after a woman he believes could be a match – there is little internal dialogue to really help solidify the character’s progression in the story.

Additionally, the humour tries very hard in the story but ultimately falls flat. The dialogue, in particular, was unnatural and forced. Overly ridiculous at times and a bit cringey. I appreciate that fans of Bob’s humour might love his type of storytelling, but if you’re not familiar with his work and you go into the story blind, I dare say this isn’t going to be a story you’ll fall in love with.

“I was slightly perturbed by what Grace had to say, so I took a little stroll to calm me down. It’s something I often do when I feel ill at ease. This is how I use a walk to my advantage: I imagine, for example, that it’s a beautiful sunny day and I’m wearing a pair of baggy red corduroy shorts and a magnificent pair of tan yellow clogs.”

I appreciate that the story is a fast-paced, compact one, meaning you don’t have to sit with it too long. The story doesn’t drag, nor loiter. It is, after all, a crime novel and so the reader is engaged each chapter because we want to find out the killer’s identity.

My favourite character is Gary’s neighbour Grace – quick-witted, dry, and genuinely funny. She acts as a vessel for Gary to grow, especially as he learns to lean on another person and trust them enough to let them help him in his journey.

“Girlfriends are a topic I am never that comfortable talking about. I know I’m not good-looking but I’m not a full-on spud. I would describe my face as forgettable (certainly many people seem to forget it), and I’m five foot seven and a half inches, which is just one and a half inches below the national average (I’ve looked this up on many occasions).”

A rather absurd, oddball and accelerated tale suited for occasional readers, The Satsuma Complex skews male, 25+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Satsuma Complex
Bob Mortimer
January 2023
Simon & Schuster Book Publishers

The Circus Train by Amita Parikh

Two lives collide in a world of secrets.
But one secret greater than them all.
Is about to tear them apart . . .

At the World of Wonders, Europe’s most magnificent travelling circus, every moment is full of magic, and nothing is as it seems-especially for the people who put on the show.

Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, despite her father’s overprotection and the limitations of her wheelchair. Her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past.

Over several years, as their friendship flourishes and Alexandre trains as the illusionist’s apprentice, World War II escalates around them. When Theo and Alexandre are contracted to work and perform in a model town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena becomes separated from everything she knows. Forced to make her own way, Lena must confront her doubts and dare to believe in the impossible-herself.

Amita Parikh’s The Night Circus is a grand tale of a family separated across Europe by war.

The novel is led by the wonderous and intelligent Lena, disabled from birth by polio and underestimated by just about everyone around her. She and her father, an illusionist, are travelling with their circus in Amsterdam when a young Jewish boy, Alexandre, seeks refuge in their train. Soon, Lena and Alexandre form a strong friendship and then, eventually, a romance. But in the background, war is building, and Alexandre is not the only character that finds themselves in danger.

“The war, Theo told them, was a grave one, but it hadn’t yet spread south. Greece declared neutrality and Thessaloniki, at least to Lena, still felt like the home she always returned to each year.”

Amita should be commended for her remarkable research and attention to detail. The story spans decades, during such a pivotal moment in history, and the author has done a great job capturing the atmosphere of Europe during WWII, but also capturing Lena’s disability and the life of circus performers during this era.

The atmosphere is another one of the major strengths in the novel. The reader is immersed in a world of magic and intrigue, a mesmerising circus of wonder, where all are welcome – all shapes, sizes, heights, bodies, orientations. There is an impending doom looming under the surface, but until that threat hits, the reader feels comfortable in the story with these characters. Lena’s father Theo is a particular favourite of mine – headstrong and determined, but also incredibly caring.

“By the spring of 1940, Alexandre could do the cup-and-balls trick, the dove-pan illusion, the disappearing-penny act, and the French drop. At Horace’s request, he appeared before each performance in the lobby, along with four other cast members.”

Whilst the romantic element of the story feels a bit undeveloped and then subsequently wraps up far too quickly at the end to be believable, The Circus Train is a fantastic historical novel. The characters are all three-dimensional and well-crafted, and even the secondary characters shine through the pages.

As the story progresses and Lena finds herself separated from Alexandre and also her father, it allows her to pursue dreams she’d been putting on hold. She dreams of walking unassisted and attending medical school – both of these seem next to impossible, especially given Lena’s disability. Her father, in particular, was hesitant about Lena attending medical school but accepting their fates means Lena must re-focus her energy on her career and her health.

“Lena nodded. She still didn’t understand why Horace didn’t like Jewish people, but she wanted Alexandre to stay on board as long as he could. There was no chance of her saying anything to jeopardise that.”

A sweeping and charming tale of magic and hope amidst the backdrop of WWII, The Circus Train is for readers of historical fiction and war sagas. The carnivalesque setting will attract many readers. Readership skews 20+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Circus Train
Amita Parikh
December 2022
Hachette Book Publishers

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self? Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life’s milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, the Madonna phase, REM concerts, unexpected wakes, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, ‘Edi’s memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.’

So when Edi is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ash’s world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi’s care, from chipped ice and watermelon cubes to music therapy; from snack smuggling to impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night. Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment, about building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go.

Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things is a poignant tale of friendship and family, and following two women as one nears the end of her life from terminal cancer. Feeling more like a novella than a novel, the story wraps in just over 200 pages.

Admittedly, I DNFed this book the first time I started it but then forced myself to give it a second chance. I can see just how many readers love this one, and whilst there were definitely some positives, there were also a lot of elements to the story that I really struggled to enjoy. And so I feel like this book is a bit middle-of-the-road for me.

“Sicilian lemon polenta pound cake is Edi’s holy grail. She bought a piece at Dean & DeLuca in the mid-1990s, claimed it was the best cake she’d ever eaten, and then could nevr find it again. Even the very next week, when she returned to the store, they didn’t know what she was talking about and had no record of such a cake in their inventory.”

I like that Edi’s terminal cancer forms a framework for the novel – we know how their story will end, and so we are anchored by the rather rapid decline in her health. It helps to maintain the pacing of the story and keeps the story on track.

However, I felt like the structure of the book wasn’t quite what I was expecting from the blurb. We were thrown into this rather chaotic story with more chapters dedicated to Ash and her family than her friendship with Edi. I thought there’d be more to establish Ash and Edi’s lives and history together but there wasn’t. As a result, I didn’t really care too much for either character. I felt like Edi seemed very small in the story and didn’t hold much presence because Ash was such a dominant – perhaps too dominant – character. Ash was also such a grating character who made rather implausible decisions that I found her rather unlikeable.

“You know when you put on a sweater in the car, and then when you get to where you’re going you can’t figure out how to get out of your seat belt? That’s what it felt like trying to peel Edi out of her clothes.”

The chaotic nature in the book was rather noticeable in the dialogue – over-the-top, somewhat contrived writing that perhaps would work on screen but not on the page (for me). I didn’t warm to Ash in the book and so her endeavours with her family and her partners fell flat for me. Whilst I can appreciate what the writer is working to establish with the trajectory of Ash and her husband’s marriage, a lot of the scenes and conversations just seemed to be there for the sake of it – lots of rambled dialogue that didn’t seem to really say anything at all.

I don’t feel there was any growth for Ash, she only cared for herself, made everything about her, and I couldn’t understand why her estranged husband would want to get back together with her at the end of the book. And her relationship with her teenage daughter felt caricature and not at all realistic.

“I’ve been friends with Jonah as long as I’ve been friends with Edi, since Edi and I were assigned, in nursery school, to take care of Vinnie, the classroom Venus flytrap. We fed Vinnie bites of bologna from our sandwiches and sang him the Jewish folk song ‘Dona, Dona’ with so much tremulous vibrato that we actually made ourselves cry.”

Whilst this book didn’t sit well with me, I am conscious how popular it is with readers and so there is definitely an established audience. Readership skewing 30+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

We All Want Impossible Things
Catherine Newman
November 2022
Penguin Random House Publishers