Review of 'Addition' a novel by Toni Jordan
I am reviewing the paperback edition of this novel, ISBN 0340963778, Publisher Sceptre, 241 pages, cover price £7.99. Genre:- Modern fiction,
**THE PLOT**
Thirty five year old Grace Lisa Vandenburg is a counter. She counts everything, from the letters in her name (19) to the bristles in her toothbrush (1768). Grace is a slave to her obsession with numbers and counting. She denies that she has OCD, that is for compulsive hand-washers, not unemployed teachers with numerically planned routines such as herself.
Grace plans her day by the clock, she knows exactly how many minutes it takes to do the most mundane of chores, she knows how many steps it is from her front door to the cafe where she drinks a hot chocolate with 2 marshmallows and eats a slice of orange cake with poppy seeds daily. The cake is a trial to her as she is compelled to count the individual poppy seeds on her slice which in turn dictates how many bites she'll take to eat it.
Grace shops on a particular day each week and buys a set amount of the same items every time. She eats, organises and lives as far as possible by the number 10 and multiples of that number. She owns 10 pairs of shoes, she buys bananas in tens, she brushes her hair 100 times and even reads books 10 pages at a time. She is also consumed by a desire to measure everything and cannot manage to leave her flat without measuring the walls.
Grace is not only a slave to numbers but she is also obsessed with the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla. Nikola was also a 'counter' and as such, he is Grace's hero. She fantasises about Nikola rescuing her from a variety of near death situations, even though he has been dead for many years.
Grace has lost her teaching job due to her counting and has had a little therapy for the condition to no avail. Her family have more or less given up hope of Grace ever living a normal life and let her get on with her self imposed routines, ringing her at set times on set days. They know that Grace finds it easier to count everything as that way there are no unpleasant surprises to rock her world.
One day, in the supermarket, Grace realises to her horror that she has only picked up 9 bananas, she is so fazed by this that she is compelled to pinch one from another shopper's basket. Naturally this leads to a verbal exchange with the other customer and so Grace meets Seamus Joseph O'Reilly, (also a 19).
Once the banana incident is sorted, Seamus is attracted to Grace and the pair form a relationship, Grace then has to juggle love with counting, a recipe fraught with disaster and confusion.
**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**
Toni Jordan was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1966. After leaving school, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland. She has worked as a research assistant, molecular biologist, quality control chemist, door-to-door aluminium siding saleswoman, marketing manager, shop assistant and copywriter.
In 1996 she moved to Melbourne, and in 2004 quit her job to study professional writing full time at RMIT University. While studying, she began writing her début novel, Addition.
Toni still lives in Melbourne with her husband and works as a freelance copywriter.
Addition was one of the books on the Richard & Judy 'Summer Reads' list in 2008.
**MY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION**
As I had not come across this author before and Addition is Toni Jordan's first novel, I had no preconceived expectations of the book.
Addition is a strange novel and to be honest, I found this book a little hard going at first as the constant references to number sequences, numbers and mathematical equations was bizarre and somewhat off-putting. However, once I became used to the writing style, the plot flowed and became thoroughly enjoyable.
Toni Jordan has taken a difficult condition, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and woven a novel with a real spark. The central character, Grace, is wacky, quirky and very likeable. Her condition is ruling her life and she doesn't really like the way she is, yet feels safe and comfortable with her routines and habits. As the plot progressed I found myself rooting for Grace and urging her to combat her obsession. The author has injected humour and empathy into the storyline without belittling or trivialising the condition her character is facing.
I particularly liked Grace's habit of delivering one liners which she felt drew the attention away from herself and her disorder and focussed on the irony of her situation. The result is a fast moving, funny novel with a very strong female leading character.
This is a novel that I would actually like to see made into a movie, something I can very rarely visualise, as I tend to prefer the written word to films.
The author has obviously researched her subject thoroughly, particularly where the life of inventor and 'counter' Nikola Tesla is worked into the plot. All in all, I found this novel to be an excellent read and would recommend it to others.
Thank you for reading.
©brittle1906
N.B. My review may be found on other review sites under the same user name.
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Monday, 17 January 2011
WHAT HAS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Review of 'The Venus Conspiracy' a novel by Michael Cordy.
I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 0552148830, published by Corgi Books, 464 pages, cover price £6.99.
Genre:- Thriller.
**THE PLOT**
Prologue.
A fairly short prologue consisting of just 8 or 9 pages. This is a dark and sinister glimpse into the terror of Max, a nine year old boy who, with his mother, is being hunted down. The boy and his mother are caught one night and taken on board a yacht. Max is then forced to witness his mother being killed by drowning as she is thrown overboard. He dives into the water after her and tries desperately to save her to no avail. When he is heaved back onto the boat deck, he is told that he must never show emotion or pain again.
Main section
Professor Carlos Bacci inadvertently unlocks the biological key to falling in love. He develops a drug capable of recreating emotions which are indistinguishable from the real thing. Bacci is a naive, yet brilliant man who feels that his miracle drug should be used to benefit mankind and could create harmony and love in a troubled world. His research is expensive however and he struggles to continue his work, eventually he seeks funding and business advice from a private Swiss bank owned by the secretive and powerful Kappel family.
The head of the Kappel family, Helmut, sees love as a weak emotion to be exploited and unknown to Professor Bacci, he has his own plans for the wonder drug. Funding is approved with certain provisos, leaving Bacci able to continue in his work.
Little does the well meaning Professor realise that Helmut Kappel is a ruthless and arrogant man who will stop at nothing, even murder, to attain his own ends. The plot twists and turns through the storyline as we see Kappel using everyone around him, including his own flesh and blood in his quest to achieve his goals.
**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**
British author Cordy was born in Ghana and spent much of his childhood in East and West Africa. On his return to the United Kingdom, he was educated at King's School, Canterbury and then attended Leicester and Durham universities. Following a career in marketing, Michael Cordy decided with the backing of his wife, Jenny to turn his back on his career and follow his dream of becoming an author. His first novel, 'The Miracle Strain', followed two years later. This book was highly controversial, with a plot dealing with the DNA of Christ.
Michael Cordy's writing has been compared to that of Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.
The author has produce 5 novels in total with a sixth currently in progress.
He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
**My source for the above information was the author's website www.michaelcordy.com
**MY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION**
The good
The Venus Conspiracy starts off as a fast paced thriller, but later descends into a romance of sorts along the way. The plot is complex and twists and turns through the rise and fall of certain characters. I felt the author had put a great deal of work into his story line and the plot fairly skips along. The Venus Conspiracy has well developed, believable characters in my opinion.
I do feel that the writing style is similar to that of Dan Brown and the author is not afraid to confront deep emotive issues in order to produce a cracking thriller with a good deal of human interest too.
The Bad
This novel was a huge disappointment for me. In part I admit that this was my own fault. I have read several of the author's novels before and enjoyed them very much, so when I spotted The Venus Conspiracy in the reduced section of a bookshop recently, I snatched it up without really reading the book 'blurb'.
Had I done so, I would have seen the warning that this book is in fact the novel 'True' republished under a new title! It became apparent after I had read a few pages that I had read this novel sometime previously.
I cannot altogether approve of this practise and I felt somewhat cheated, however, as previously stated I did not really read the back of the book so it was my own fault!
Conclusion
In spite of the comments above, I would re-read this novel. I did enjoy the story and felt the characters, storyline and outcome were excellent. It is a well crafted novel and I would recommend it to others, just as long as they haven't already read 'True' by the same author!
My thanks for reading,
©brittle1906
N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.
I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 0552148830, published by Corgi Books, 464 pages, cover price £6.99.
Genre:- Thriller.
**THE PLOT**
Prologue.
A fairly short prologue consisting of just 8 or 9 pages. This is a dark and sinister glimpse into the terror of Max, a nine year old boy who, with his mother, is being hunted down. The boy and his mother are caught one night and taken on board a yacht. Max is then forced to witness his mother being killed by drowning as she is thrown overboard. He dives into the water after her and tries desperately to save her to no avail. When he is heaved back onto the boat deck, he is told that he must never show emotion or pain again.
Main section
Professor Carlos Bacci inadvertently unlocks the biological key to falling in love. He develops a drug capable of recreating emotions which are indistinguishable from the real thing. Bacci is a naive, yet brilliant man who feels that his miracle drug should be used to benefit mankind and could create harmony and love in a troubled world. His research is expensive however and he struggles to continue his work, eventually he seeks funding and business advice from a private Swiss bank owned by the secretive and powerful Kappel family.
The head of the Kappel family, Helmut, sees love as a weak emotion to be exploited and unknown to Professor Bacci, he has his own plans for the wonder drug. Funding is approved with certain provisos, leaving Bacci able to continue in his work.
Little does the well meaning Professor realise that Helmut Kappel is a ruthless and arrogant man who will stop at nothing, even murder, to attain his own ends. The plot twists and turns through the storyline as we see Kappel using everyone around him, including his own flesh and blood in his quest to achieve his goals.
**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**
British author Cordy was born in Ghana and spent much of his childhood in East and West Africa. On his return to the United Kingdom, he was educated at King's School, Canterbury and then attended Leicester and Durham universities. Following a career in marketing, Michael Cordy decided with the backing of his wife, Jenny to turn his back on his career and follow his dream of becoming an author. His first novel, 'The Miracle Strain', followed two years later. This book was highly controversial, with a plot dealing with the DNA of Christ.
Michael Cordy's writing has been compared to that of Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.
The author has produce 5 novels in total with a sixth currently in progress.
He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
**My source for the above information was the author's website www.michaelcordy.com
**MY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION**
The good
The Venus Conspiracy starts off as a fast paced thriller, but later descends into a romance of sorts along the way. The plot is complex and twists and turns through the rise and fall of certain characters. I felt the author had put a great deal of work into his story line and the plot fairly skips along. The Venus Conspiracy has well developed, believable characters in my opinion.
I do feel that the writing style is similar to that of Dan Brown and the author is not afraid to confront deep emotive issues in order to produce a cracking thriller with a good deal of human interest too.
The Bad
This novel was a huge disappointment for me. In part I admit that this was my own fault. I have read several of the author's novels before and enjoyed them very much, so when I spotted The Venus Conspiracy in the reduced section of a bookshop recently, I snatched it up without really reading the book 'blurb'.
Had I done so, I would have seen the warning that this book is in fact the novel 'True' republished under a new title! It became apparent after I had read a few pages that I had read this novel sometime previously.
I cannot altogether approve of this practise and I felt somewhat cheated, however, as previously stated I did not really read the back of the book so it was my own fault!
Conclusion
In spite of the comments above, I would re-read this novel. I did enjoy the story and felt the characters, storyline and outcome were excellent. It is a well crafted novel and I would recommend it to others, just as long as they haven't already read 'True' by the same author!
My thanks for reading,
©brittle1906
N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
A KINGDOM FOR THE BRAVE
Review of A Kingdom For The Brave, a novel by Tamara McKinley
I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 978-0340924716, 432 pages, published by Hodder Books, cover price £6.99.
A Kingdom For The Brave is the second book in a trilogy, however it can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel, as the plot is not dependant upon the reader having read the previous books. The novel is set in Australia and covers the period from 1795 to 1813.
The trilogy consists of 'Lands Beyond The Sea', 'A Kingdom For The Brave' and 'Legacy'.
The Plot
George Collinson meets Eloise Cadwallader at the Governor's mansion in Sydney. He falls in love with her at first sight. Eloise is married to Edward Cadwallader, a brutal soldier who enjoys nothing more than rounding up and killing Aboriginal natives in the newly colonised Australia. The pair struggle to keep their mutual attraction secret. George has shares in a fleet of whalers and in an attempt to forget Eloise, spends as much time at sea as he can.
Unbeknown to Eloise, there is a very dangerous side to her husband's character and when the truth is uncovered, it rocks her world.
The story follows the fates of several families, the Collinsons, the Cadwalladers, the Penhaligans and the Aboriginal boy, Mandawuy. The characters all have a common link, which at times appears tenuous, however as the plot unfolds and the characters develop, the link becomes apparent.
Several of the main characters have arrived in Australia as convicts and the reasons for their transportation are very diverse, as are their ages. The youngest convict character is eight years old, an Irish boy who has been transported for supporting his older brothers in their fight against the British in Ireland.
The novel has a sub-plot as the story also follows the growth to manhood of Mandawuy and the struggle of Aboriginal warriors who fight against the settlers and soldiers to maintain their lands and heritage.
The plot is set against the tensions and political intrigues that were part of Australia in this era of history. Fast moving and gripping, this is a novel for those who like fiction based loosely on fact and a cracking plot!
About the Author
TAMARA MCKINLEY was born in Tasmania in 1948. She was adopted at the age of 6 by her English grandmother who brought her to England to finish her education at an all girls’ boarding school in Sussex.
She has three children who were brought up in the Eastbourne area of East Sussex. Tamara McKinley has written 8 novels set in the days of early Australian pioneers, as well as psychological thrillers. Her books are published in at least 15 different languages and she has been described as 'Britain's best kept secret'.
Tamara still lives on the south coast of England but travels to her homeland every year to promote her work, carry out research for her novels and to visit her eldest son and his children.
More information about the author and a bibliography can be found on her website:-
http://www.tamaramckinley.co.uk/
My Thoughts and Conclusion
I really enjoyed this novel, I should point out that I had not read any other books in the trilogy when I read this book. This did not mar my reading pleasure, in fact I am now intending to purchase the other two books in order to see what befalls the characters.
The plot is well rounded and has enough twists and turns to keep the readers interest. The characters are richly described, as is the Australian way of life in the late 1700's.
At first, I considered amount of central characters a little excessive, however as the plot progressed and melded them all together, the reason for the number of characters became clear. I felt that the storyline was well thought out by the author and the outcome of the novel was a surprise. This author certainly has a deep affection for Australia and it's history, which shines through the pages of this novel.
I would recommend A Kingdom for the Brave to others.
Thank you for reading.
©brittle1906
N.B. My reviews may appear on other review sites under the same user name.
I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 978-0340924716, 432 pages, published by Hodder Books, cover price £6.99.
A Kingdom For The Brave is the second book in a trilogy, however it can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel, as the plot is not dependant upon the reader having read the previous books. The novel is set in Australia and covers the period from 1795 to 1813.
The trilogy consists of 'Lands Beyond The Sea', 'A Kingdom For The Brave' and 'Legacy'.
The Plot
George Collinson meets Eloise Cadwallader at the Governor's mansion in Sydney. He falls in love with her at first sight. Eloise is married to Edward Cadwallader, a brutal soldier who enjoys nothing more than rounding up and killing Aboriginal natives in the newly colonised Australia. The pair struggle to keep their mutual attraction secret. George has shares in a fleet of whalers and in an attempt to forget Eloise, spends as much time at sea as he can.
Unbeknown to Eloise, there is a very dangerous side to her husband's character and when the truth is uncovered, it rocks her world.
The story follows the fates of several families, the Collinsons, the Cadwalladers, the Penhaligans and the Aboriginal boy, Mandawuy. The characters all have a common link, which at times appears tenuous, however as the plot unfolds and the characters develop, the link becomes apparent.
Several of the main characters have arrived in Australia as convicts and the reasons for their transportation are very diverse, as are their ages. The youngest convict character is eight years old, an Irish boy who has been transported for supporting his older brothers in their fight against the British in Ireland.
The novel has a sub-plot as the story also follows the growth to manhood of Mandawuy and the struggle of Aboriginal warriors who fight against the settlers and soldiers to maintain their lands and heritage.
The plot is set against the tensions and political intrigues that were part of Australia in this era of history. Fast moving and gripping, this is a novel for those who like fiction based loosely on fact and a cracking plot!
About the Author
TAMARA MCKINLEY was born in Tasmania in 1948. She was adopted at the age of 6 by her English grandmother who brought her to England to finish her education at an all girls’ boarding school in Sussex.
She has three children who were brought up in the Eastbourne area of East Sussex. Tamara McKinley has written 8 novels set in the days of early Australian pioneers, as well as psychological thrillers. Her books are published in at least 15 different languages and she has been described as 'Britain's best kept secret'.
Tamara still lives on the south coast of England but travels to her homeland every year to promote her work, carry out research for her novels and to visit her eldest son and his children.
More information about the author and a bibliography can be found on her website:-
http://www.tamaramckinley.co.uk/
My Thoughts and Conclusion
I really enjoyed this novel, I should point out that I had not read any other books in the trilogy when I read this book. This did not mar my reading pleasure, in fact I am now intending to purchase the other two books in order to see what befalls the characters.
The plot is well rounded and has enough twists and turns to keep the readers interest. The characters are richly described, as is the Australian way of life in the late 1700's.
At first, I considered amount of central characters a little excessive, however as the plot progressed and melded them all together, the reason for the number of characters became clear. I felt that the storyline was well thought out by the author and the outcome of the novel was a surprise. This author certainly has a deep affection for Australia and it's history, which shines through the pages of this novel.
I would recommend A Kingdom for the Brave to others.
Thank you for reading.
©brittle1906
N.B. My reviews may appear on other review sites under the same user name.
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