UEL English PEN Society Book Reviews

In my defence, I don't usually read crime fiction, especially not crime fiction with hideous amounts of sexual tension. But hey, today I was headed over to see my mama, and realised I didn't have a book (pretty unusual for me, I've normally got my head stuck in one). So I ventured into my library and TOTALLY did the whole "judging a book by its cover" thing. And besides, I need variety, it's the spice of life!

Anyway. So I find myself on the train, nose in this book. Main character Jess Harris is a tough-talking sexual-being who suffers from a serious Type-A personality and really needs to get laid. After a cock-up at work, she finds herself back in the home-town she tried so hard to get away from after graduating. Reunited with her ex love-interest, they struggle to contain themselves as they attempt to solve the case of four missing girls. 

Again, every woman in this novel is stunningly attractive, with no such mention of cellulite and only one of wrinkles (and only in passing as a reference to the main character being over 40.

Actually an interesting plot-line with an unexpectedly psychologically-disturbed un-sub, this book differs from the generic killer kidnaps girl, tortures girl, kills girl plot-line. Well done Debra Webb.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT A GRAPHIC NOVEL.

Sorry, just needed to be super clear to avoid confusion. And before you start with all the "comics books aren't really books, they don't take as long to read" garbage, don't. Speaking as someone who focuses on the relationship between text and image, graphic novels are just as rich in content as a novel. In a way, it's possible to spend far more time reading a graphic novel due to having to take in all the illustrations (line work, shading, colour), working out how the artist/s has decided to present the text (horizontally, vertically, a mix of both), etc. And then there's the storyline itself.

And now for the review.

Personally, I love works of fiction that are set in cities, especially cities that I am familiar with. "The Vinyl Underground" is set in London, the city I call home, but I'd honestly recommend it to anyone, regardless of your roots. 
The illustrations are fairly simplistic, mostly using plain colour background to make the image stand out. If you're someone who doesn't enjoy crowded pages, I'd say this one is good for you; the images are pretty clearly segregated for the majority. 

The story itself focuses on a trio of young crime-fighting hot-heads who enjoy being arrogant enough to leave clues behind for the police. The main character is a "D-List" celebrity who (as is always the case) is conflicted and angsty about his past. 

The main themes of the story are;
>Dark African magic
>Violence
>Sex
>Betrayal
>Death

It's an interesting mix of characters, but don't expect to see any women who are not stereotypically attractive, the target audience seems to be men with no perception of how a human body works from a biological point of view (for example, I fear the majority of these women's spines would break due to their overbearing bosoms and childlike waists).

Definitely well worth a read, although here are some trigger warnings; parental death, abortion, possible sexual assault, severe brutal violence.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth. 

So a couple of years ago, pretty much the only things that the word "gypsy" brought to mind were negative connotations, caravans and tea-leaves. 

And then Channel 4 came along with a programme idea that had a whole lot of people tuning in to learn about a culture that had little known about it and even less liked. "Big Fat Gypsy Weddings" caused a massive storm when it was first broadcast, showing the watchers the story behind this secretive society. 

The book is no different, telling all about the traditions that have been passed down for generations through traveller families. 

However, what this book also presents is an interesting debate amongst young gypsies; is it right that boys and girls are treated so radically differently in their community? I believe that a lot of people will honestly be surprised (and possibly horrified) by the views of these young people on topics such as; 
>Is it acceptable for a husband to beat his wife if she isn't behaving the way he wants?
>Should female gypsies work?
>What is an acceptable age to be aiming for marriage?

The stark contrast between this world and the world that the majority of readers live in will be very plain to see. The sheer size of the wedding dress is something to be amazed by, they often weigh up to twenty stone, nearly three times the weight of the girl who is wearing them. 
The age of the young women being married will also be a shocking factor; the average age for a woman to be married in the UK is 27, whereas in the traveller community it is far younger, with girls as young as 19 being considered "past it" in terms of matrimony.

Don't expect this book to change your life, but do expect it to open your eyes.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

There has been a lot of word going around about The Sugar Girls book, so I thought I'd give it a read. It took a while for me to get glued to the story, but I enjoyed seeing London from a historical perspective, mostly due to the fact I have been living in that area myself and therefore knew most of the locations.

The book is set in 50's and 60's and focuses on the east part of London and the Tate & Lyle sugar factory - it's always educative to read the history of the products most of us probably have in our cupboards. The Sugar Girls, as the girls who worked at the factory were called, worked there for a lot of years and therefore formed strong bonds with other girls and Tate & Lyle became part of their life.

The Sugar Girls book focuses on four girls - Ethel, Lillian, Gladys and Joan. I really felt a strong connection with history whilst reading this (mainly because I'm a hippy and enjoy historical things a bit too much) and I could easily imagine myself living in that period of time. The only negative remark I have to point out about this book was the way it was written - one chapter focuses on one individual girl and goes from Ethel, Lillian, Gladys and Joan and reverts back to them in that same order. Although this way the reader still feels in touch with all the characters, I would prefer the writers to focus on one girl's story and then focus on the other one, as it was really hard to remember what happened to the characters once the writers reverted back to their stories.

The language used in the book is very appropriate for the time period and therefore takes you on a journey where The Sugar Girls worked hard and now share their stories with the rest of the world.  I would definitely recommend it as a read to people interested in this subject or in history in general as the writers definitely worked hard to create a realistic imagery of that time period.

A little fun (or not so fun) fact: Mary Flanagan was one of the sugar girls and her case is one of the oldest missing persons's case in history of London - she disappeared on New Year's Eve at the age of 16, waving her family goodbye as she was going to a Tate & Lyle party. Her family is still actively looking for her to this day.

Mandy

The first book I read for our readathon was I, Robot. The popular Will Smith film was vaguely based on this collection of short stories in which US Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc. produce robots, but each seem to have serious flaws that need to be overcome.

The collection of nine stories are extremely naive in their expecting fully fledged robots by 1998 and their suggesting mining on Mercury in 2015, even the three laws of robotics that all robots must live by are naive. The first law (a robot cannot harm a human being) would never be implemented because, robotics are largely funded by governments, and are largely designed for war, obviously resulting in loss of human lives.