Review by Lisa Williams of "Gentle November" by Alan Edward Roberts

"He was a magician but not a very good one": this is a book seemingly at first about an affair. The couple have just eloped, but I wouldn’t file this under "romance." They masquerade uncomfortably as father and daughter. There seems to be very little excitement and not much joy.

The story, we discover, is about a woman on a collision course, her life a "runaway train of sad events" heading towards a waiting desert. Namibia, specifically the Skeleton Coast, beckons from a childhood map, a "turbulent flight" away on a "long-ago upstairs landing."

This is somewhere she’s dreamed about, but again she doesn’t seem to be enjoying herself. Things happen around her: life is out of her control.

We walk along a parched landscape of haunted trees and wrecked boats, the backdrop to a beautifully painful tale. This small volume is an intriguing story, one that pulls you in and demands to be read in one sitting. Gentle November is peppered with disturbing scenes and images and is skilfully haunting. We never find out the woman's name. This leaves a superb sense of unease, makes you feel like perhaps you weren’t paying her enough attention, and the story consequently lingers beautifully on, long after you’ve put the book down.

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester. She writes word-limited flash fiction, mostly drabbles - stories of exactly one hundred words. You can find her online @noodleBubble. 

Review by Lisa Williams of "FantasticLand" by Mike Bockoven

It’s the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness so the time is ripe for getting cosy with some dark dystopian fiction. FantasticLand is a theme park and has been a mecca for fun since the 70s. A hurricane hits and floods the area; a team of predominantly college-aged employees are hired to look after the now-isolated park in the aftermath of the storm. What follows is a modern-day Lord of the Flies. The book isn’t for everyone – the violence is graphic and relentless. There’s a lovely juxtaposition though between the Disney-type theme park where "fun is guaranteed" and the grisly events that follow the storm, as society rapidly breaks down. The story is told through transcripts of interviews and eye-witness reports that give the story a real credibility. It’s reminiscent of a 1970s disaster movie, and in parts you do have to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride. FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven is a gripping tale and fab for losing yourself in as the nights close in.

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester. She writes word-limited flash fiction, mostly drabbles - stories of exactly one hundred words. You can find her online @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "The Names" by Florence Knapp

"Cora never liked the name Gordon. The way it starts with a splintering sound that makes her think of cracked boiled sweets, and then ends with a thud like slamming down a sports bag."

Billed as "the story of three names, three versions of a life," this is a heart-tugging read but written in utterly enchanting prose.

In 1987, the UK was battered by a great storm. The book begins that night: as husband, Gordon, reminds his wife to register their son’s name the next day. And so, with the simple act of a baby being named the story starts and the damage from the storm is revealed. There are three separate stories told in the book. It’s the same family but the child gets a different name and life in each of the tales.

After a couple of chapters for each of the three names the plot jumps forward seven years. This gives quite a pleasing switch in your head between the different stories - and often a lurching dread when you remember how we left the action at the end of the last segment. 

The Names is a debut novel by Florence Knapp and already I can’t wait to read her next one.

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is a creative soul from Leicester. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Leicester University. She writes mostly short fiction and really likes the challenge of a word limit – usually one hundred words. She publishes weekly on Substack here.

Review by Lisa Williams of "Flatlands" by Sue Hubbard

Flatlands by Sue Hubbard retells Gallico’s The Snow Goose but to an adult audience. Two souls that don’t belong, Freda and Philip, are bonded by the welfare of an injured bird: wounds and the wounded feature heavily in this wartime story. We are still evacuated with Freda but the desolation of the Snow Goose’s stretching mudflats are shifted up the coast to a “place between somewhere and nowhere” on the shores of the Wash. Hubbard’s skilled scene setting places us in both the wilderness and the time perfectly.

On “a hot day, the sort of day for a picnic, not a war” we’re transported with Freda on a train full of sad, scared evacuees to a new home “far away from love.” We’re immersed immediately in the “melancholy of the place.” This landscape, we learn as the story unfolds, matches the aching loneliness felt by both Freda and Philip. Freda remembers paisley eiderdowns and parma violets – Hubbard treats all our senses as she juxtaposes home comforts against the relentlessly barren East coast landscape.

Throughout the book the feeling of threat and uncertainty that war brings looms large but the actual menace is revealed to be lurking within the farmhouse. It is in the very place that Freda is put for safety that the full horrors of war are first exposed. She finds sanctuary at Philip’s lighthouse and they form what Philip describes as “a strange little friendship.”

An elderly Freda is telling us the story as a documentary about Dunkirk is about to be shown at her care home. Those nursed on the The Snow Goose will know Dunkirk’s poignant part in the story. I’m paddling carefully here not to avoid mines, but spoilers. During the depths of Dunkirk’s horrors in Flatlands oddly it was the addition of a dog in the water that made me catch my breath. His fate lingers long after the page has been turned.

As I read a book I make a note of sentences that I like. There was a point early on in this book that I thought I might never finish reading it because I was writing so many down. It’s a slow-paced read but with some delightful lines.

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is a creative soul from Leicester. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Leicester University, and lately tends to write mostly short fiction. She likes the challenge of a word limit – usually one hundred words. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies. Lisa has a weekly story slot on local community radio. She helps out a bit at Friday Flash Fiction and Blink Ink Journal. Lisa also paints and makes jewellery selling online as noodleBubble.

Review by Lisa Williams of "Scablands and Other Stories" by Jonathan Taylor

The Scablands are vast barren areas in the USA riddled with fissures. A scab is a person that breaks a picket line during industrial action. A scab is hard and unattractive. A scab covers an area that has been hurt, and needs time to heal. This book is not set in America.

Buckle in as we head on this lyrical journey to the Scablands: the stories vary in length, some barely a page, others develop in over thirty. The city setting has a park, shops and even a Lovers Walk. It sounds divine but we soon realise it’s a place "brimful of loneliness" packed with "affection-starved strangers." This is very much a book of "sorrowful voices." Don’t worry - you can buy a hug from a booth for £2 there if it gets a bit much.

There’s suicide, amputation, self harm and ever-unfulfilled wishes. The lonely converge here, but Taylor’s poetic use of language ensures reading is a joy not a chore. His use of humour helps too: a homeless guy talks about moving to somewhere more palatial, and "it might even have walls." There are flickering glimmers of hope for the characters: a university place or a lottery ticket may provide a way out, although the offer of a different life is not necessarily wanted. What isn’t said is important, the gaps the reader completes themselves, asfor example in the poignant line: "A girl eternally eleven."

To take a specific story without ruining the book for you - "Till Life" is a delightful puzzle of a story. It covers the working day of a shop-girl. Taylor piques our interest with titbits like a secret tea-cosy in a pocket. He prompts the reader to question what he’s telling us. We realise things aren’t straightforward when Mrs Parker is more than just a boss and manager. We unpick the peppered little clues, such as an accident, a hospital stay and the necessity of care, in order to reveal the actual story beneath. 

Many of the characters stay with you to the next story. At times, as the story finishes it actually feels like just the start of their story – particularly "A Sentimental Story." An earworm appears in three separate stories; a Dr’s name reappears later on. In my haste to review I’ve read the stories too quickly to decipher links. These characters deserve a less galloped read, which I have already begun.

The images created in these stories linger long after the book has been shut: an Andy Pandy Nightdress, a soldier digging in the mud, a girl on a till trying to pause her life and a biography completely crossed out in red pen. The stories in Scablands may be short, but Taylor’s superb word weaving skill ensures the tales last so much longer than their actual length. 

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is a creative soul from Leicester. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Leicester University, and lately tends to write mostly short fiction. She likes the challenge of a word limit – usually one hundred words. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies. Lisa has a weekly story slot on local community radio. She helps out a bit at Friday Flash Fiction and Blink Ink Journal. A regular stall holder at Leicester's new Art Fair, Lisa also sells online as noodleBubble.

Review by Lisa Williams of "The Last Dance" by Mark Billingham

The Last Dance is the first book in a new series by Mark Billingham. The story introduces his new character DS Declan Miller: he’s returned to work, some think too early, after the death of his wife. His wife also worked for the force and was his dancing partner – hence the title. 

Declan likes a joke. His new partner at work, DS Sara Xiu, is unresponsive to his humour. This antagonism bonds them nicely as characters and ensures by the end of the book the pairing feels as comfortable as a favourite pair of slippers. 

I read this on Pigeonhole. They release a few chapters a day which meant I couldn’t binge it and consequently felt every cliff-hanger. It's a tense enjoyable read and I’ll very definitely be reading the next Detective Miller novel.

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams writes short stories usually of just 100 words. You can find her online @noodleBubble

Review by Lisa Williams of "The Scent of Flowers at Night" by Leïla Slimani

Grab a sleeping bag – we’re off to Venice with Leïla Slimani to be locked into the Punta della Dogana museum for the night. In 2016 her novel Sweet Song won the Prix Goncourt, and this year she’s one of the Booker Prize judges. In The Scent of Flowers at Night she dwells on family, oppression, and ultimately happiness. These musings are woven round her exploration of the exhibits at night. Her reflections on self, solitude and the creative process make this short autobiographical work a particular delight for writers. The time frame seems fleeting though; her neat, lucid style leaves you wanting to spend another night with her, perhaps in a different museum.  

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester. She writes word-limited flash fiction, mostly drabbles - stories of exactly one hundred words. You can find her online @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "How to Pronounce Knife" by Souvankham Thammavongsa

How to Pronounce Knife is a hard-hitting short story compilation. The author was born in the Lao refugee camp in Thailand before being raised in Toronto. The stories focus on Laos immigrants, with an overarching theme of people being in places where they don’t feel they belong. 

Often told from the viewpoint of a younger person, the book features a collection of disparate characters. These are small stories about vast issues. Each one lands like a slap across the face and leaves a sting that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. 

Her debut work of fiction, I’m eagerly awaiting Thammavongsa's next!

About the reviewer
Lisa has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester. She writes word-limited flash fiction, mostly drabbles - stories of exactly one hundred words. You can find her online @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "Madwoman" by Louisa Treger

          It was struggle, loss and longing that propelled the narrative forward ... 

 - Louisa Treger, Madwoman

Although this story is based on biographical facts of Nellie Bly’s life, the author stresses from the beginning that we are reading a work of fiction. The gaps in the record have been filled with Treger’s invention and this blend of fact and fiction is seamlessly woven into a fab read. Although a compelling character in real life it is Treger’s yarn-spinning skill that gets us rushing through the book.

In the prologue we find ourselves shackled to Nellie on the way to Blackwell’s Island, ‘a place of criminals, paupers, the sick and the insane’ with a guard warning us ‘you’ll never get out.’ Despite this prophecy, Nellie and the reader are comforted by the fact that ‘storytelling would get her through this.’ We’re hooked immediately, needing to know how this will end but Chapter One throws us back in time to her childhood.

After a taste of what’s to come, we find out how she got there; we’re with Nellie as she has the dawning realisation of the injustices of the world, discovers the fetters of her femininity. We share her struggles as she rallies against the differences between the opportunities available for her and the ones her brothers are given. At each stage we get glimpses of Nellie’s strong fighting spirit and how she battles against the usual role of women at that time. 

Nellie is, however, encouraged by her father to follow her dreams. At eleven he gives her a journal and fountain pen, bucking against the Victorian idea that ‘too much imagination can play havoc with a young girl’s mind.’  She has an unflinching drive to tell her story and we share her frustrations at the limited options available to her through her formative years before her story continues back on Blackwell’s Island.

The book is about storytelling. We follow Nellie in her struggle to create her own story as a woman in a male-dominated world. The Nellie we read about is part fiction, part fact and is a character you warm to instantly. She recognises the untold stories in the world, and with her indomitable strength of spirit she forges a way to tell them, getting them an audience while helping the other protagonists ultimately find their own voices too.

About the reviewer

Lisa Williams is a shopgirl and a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. https://linktr.ee/noodlebubble

You can read more about Madwoman by Louisa Treger, as well as an excerpt from the novel, on Creative Writing at Leicester here. 

Review by Lisa Williams of "The Lost Daughter" by Elena Ferrante

Have you seen the film yet? Treat your eyeballs, it’s fab – Olivia Coleman is just perfectly cast as the protagonist Professor Leda. The film follows the book very closely, but perhaps read the book first? I think it’s better to have your own pictures in your head as you read. 

Ferrante does characters so well. In this beauty, she explores motherhood, specifically the bond between mother and daughter. The book examines the impact on a woman’s life, career, hopes and expectations of these ties. It’s breathtaking, but then I am a mother that struggled with the impact of the life changes after the birth of my daughter 

I don’t think I’m giving too much away by saying there’s a missing child in the book. It reminds Leda of her own daughter going missing. I’m not sure who the lost daughter in the title is, though. There are a few mothers in the book who have daughters but are also daughters themselves. Ugh ... I’m always conscious of not dropping hideous spoilers. Will you please read it and then we’ll chat?

About the reviewer

Lisa Williams is a shopgirl and a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. She is on Twitter @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "Outbreak" by Frank Gardner

You might want to pop a Kevlar vest on for this action-packed book from the BBC’s security correspondent. It’s a fast-paced read – short chapters moving between four different countries. We travel from the Arctic Circle to Porton Down and from Moscow to Lithuania.

This is the third book (I’ve not read the others) featuring the hero MI6 operative Luke Carlton. I feel this book stands alone as I only realised there were two others when I’d finished reading and there wasn’t a point when I felt I didn’t know what was going on or that I was missing something.

If you read for escapism it’s possibly not the right book at the moment.  The subject is clear from the title - the book opens with three scientists in a blizzard in the Arctic Circle searching for shelter. They find a cabin. Inside a man is slumped in the corner, his swollen body convulses. Blood, bile and mucus sprays into the air and so the contamination begins. Actually you might want to pop a little mask on as you read too ... 

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is a shopgirl and a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. She is on Twitter @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr

“Part fairytale, part fool’s errand, part science fiction, part Utopian Satire ...” You might recognise the name? Doerr won the Pulitzer prize in 2015 for All the Light We Cannot See. That’s another book (Netflix Series next year) that stays with you for a long time after reading and the reason I picked this book up. 

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a book about the power of a story. We are taken to the past, the future and the present with seemingly unconnected stories, different characters and places. At first it’s hard to fathom a link between them all but as the story progresses it becomes clearer. There’s no getting lost in the shifting settings as each chapter begins with a date and location for the unfolding action.

This is an exquisite read, one you’re torn between speeding up to get to the story’s conclusion and wanting to slow down so you can savour its delights forever. This is a book that when I reached the end I immediately wanted to start it again. 

About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is a shopgirl and a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. She is on Twitter @noodleBubble 

Review by Lisa Williams of "Coffee Spills & Songs" by Berendsje Westra

 

Coffee Spills & Songs by Berendsje Westra is the story of Air Steward Carys and her life as she approaches her thirtieth birthday. The action travels between her childhood and 2010. The book is written in the first person and we are soon enjoying her new relationship. Westra shows us the faults that Carys misses or ignores in her new partner. This makes for a frustrating read – we are cheering on our protagonist whilst wanting to grab her away from situations she saunters into. This helps you feel more invested in the book – Carys becomes almost a close friend, although at the same time it accentuates the exasperation we feel at her decisions and life choices. This isn’t a light fluffy read - the story also examines family tragedy and mental health. These weighty themes are woven seamlessly into the narrative.

This book is part of a trilogy yet still has a satisfying end should you choose not to read further. The characters are so fabulously crafted I certainly put the book down hoping the next one is soon available.

About the reviewer

Lisa Williams is a shopgirl from Leicester. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester. @noodleBubble online.

 

Review by Lisa Williams of "Crazy" by Jane Feaver

Crazy is a blend of fiction and memoir. It's a thought-provoking story of a relationship and essentially about the blurring between life and storytelling itself ...  

The book opens in a bed, the shipping forecast providing a comforting massage to its occupant. Rather than a sailor listening to the outlook for the seas around Britain we join Jane, a creative writing teacher. The areas trigger memories and so the course is set and we head off with her on her uncharted journey.

The novel focuses on a relationship. A former relationship. This is pieced together from flashbacks to first meetings during college years. Phone conversations from then and from present day hint that there’s been more to the relationship. We listen for what’s unsaid. The heaviness of a bad or wrong decision lingers throughout. 

Just as Jane the teacher unpicks students' work, so we dwell on the author's choices: we know an ill-fitting shoe at her wedding is more than just that. This is no fairytale with a prince and his bride set for a happy ending. We return again to the sea when a bottle of cider provides a life buoy at a party. 

Midway through the book Jane's partner declares the 'end of story.' It starts to sink in that they aren’t sharing the same story. Jane tells us her tale but there are negative bits she immediately tells us 'I edit it out.'

Crazy made me question my own relationships, the bits I exclude from my stories. I'd not read anything by Jane Feaver before but will definitely be looking up her other books.

About the reviewer
Lisa is a shop girl from Leicester. Find her on social media @noodleBubble

You can read more about Crazy by Jane Feaver on Creative Writing at Leicester here.

Review by Lisa Williams of "Your Cleaner Hates You and Other Poems" by Cathi Rae

Your Cleaner Hates You is Cathi Rae’s debut poetry collection; she’s a local performance poet and is currently working as a cleaner.  But please don’t expect the comforting smell of polish as you read though: the opening poem with the same title as the collection is quite a punchy diatribe. 

Further in, we cover buying beds, dying dogs, feral boys and summer storms. Intimate secrets sit beside things found at bus stops. There are lists you want to devour quickly to get to the next but find yourself lingering longer over certain lines. 

All through the collection, Rae lifts your heart with humour only to fill it with sorrow in the next stanza or paragraph. She explores memory and things forgotten; relationships with partners, employers, pets, parents, children; the passing of time and procrastination - all done with a beautiful blend of wit and poignancy. 

Read the book. 

Go see her perform. 


About the reviewer
Lisa has just completed the MA course in Creative Writing at Leicester Uni, is working as a shopgirl, and although nearly 50 hasn’t yet decided what she wants to be when she grows up. You can find her online @noodleBubble

Review by Lisa Williams of "Checkout" by Kathy Gee

Welcome to a shop with a tippy tappy till, where the shop-girl knows your name, where you work and what you drive. There is no incorrect item in the baggage area here. In this respect Checkout serves to preserve something we’re losing with the closure of so many small independent stores.

Checkout is described by the author as a duologue, combining elements of flash fiction, poetry and radio play. Each page gives us one hundred words from the nameless girl on the till. In the poet’s preface we learn she mentally nicknamed her Nona (the Roman goddess of the spinner of the thread of life). The brevity of drabble form perfectly suits the timing of a corner shop visit. Thanks to Gee’s sleek prose, we gain a familiarity with each customer with only a few words from our narrator. Each drabble introduces another customer and there’s a natural flow as each new voice enters, so much so you can almost hear the tinkle of the bell above the door. 

The twenty-six characters that join Nona at the counter are varied. City bankers join the homeless. A dog and a falcon also have a chance to tell their tale too. Many, we learn simply 'use a visit to punctuate their days.' As the customers tell their stories we leave the shop, go on trips to the hairdressers, join team meetings, we hear their dreams of death and divorce, their hopes and their histories. 

Nona’s story is a constant; we find out more with each new customer and grow increasingly attached. It’s a brief but beautifully poignant read and one that I’d love to hear performed.  


About the reviewer
Lisa Williams is also a shopgirl (at a bakery) and, like Nona, frequently furnishes friends with quiche past its sell by date.

Review by Lisa Williams of "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler

After performances of The Vagina Monologues in 1996 women in the audiences found their voices; they came after the show to tell Eve their stories. Eve realised then that art could be used to prompt action. In 1998, on Valentine’s Day, V-Day was born where volunteer activists around the world staged productions of the monologues to raise awareness and funds to stop violence against girls and women. 

This edition is published to mark the 20th anniversary of V-Day.

The new introduction by the author telling of past performances (often in secret) and the reactions they provoked raises goose-bumps. There are six previously unpublished monologues in this special edition as well as a new foreword and afterword. The monologues themselves move from hilarious to heartbreaking. They tell the story of censorship and in turn of abolishing this silence.

The Vagina Monologues show us the power of words, of art, and how sometimes it takes one person’s courage to speak out to start a much-needed global conversation. Sometimes a book is more than just a book and I can’t recommend this one highly enough. 


About the reviewer
Lisa Williams loves to make stuff up and is currently a student on the MA Creative Writing course at Leicester University.