Summer Reading

I've had a rush of summer reading – well, let's just call it reading: not much sign of summer here – and it's made me realise how much I miss feeling besotted by a good book. I've done a lot of work reading over the winter, which is always thought-provoking and demanding, but it  makes me feel as if I have to be on my best behaviour, so in the last couple of weeks I've let my hair down and romped through My dear, I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young (which knocked my socks off so much that I've blogged about it elsewhere), Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd (detailed, intense, with an aftertaste that stayed with me), The Night Rainbow by Claire King (luscious, full of melancholy echoes, but with beautiful, sunlit prose) and two books by Ian Rankin because I was on holiday and never read crime fiction and – why not?

Piled up beside my bed, waiting to be devoured, I've got Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan, Ancient Light by John Banville, Toby's Room by Pat Barker and The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler. What treats in store!

I'd be really interested to hear what's on your bedside table at the moment, or what kind of book you think makes the perfect summer read...

Plotting - Taking Affirmative Action

I've recently finished reading My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young. You'd think that everything  which could possibly be said about the First World War has already been said, truth, in this instance, being considerably stranger than fiction, but Ms Young certainly gives Sebastian Faulks a run for his money - her novel is infinitely finer and more unusual than Birdsong.

Without wanting to spoil the book in any way, it concerns the burgeoning relationship between Riley, a working class lad and a young bohemian girl called Nadine. The barriers her family try to throw up between them are as nothing compared to the devastating effects that the war has on their lives.

What makes the book so heartrending and compelling is the challenging journey Riley embarks upon: he defies the rigid class system of the day in order to better himself and win the girl he loves, but he also has to draw upon superhuman resources to survive the war and come to terms with the consequences of it. Along the way there is also much for him to learn about the integrity - and otherwise - of  human nature.

I think the reason My Dear was shortlisted for the Costa Prize and has chimed with so many readers is that in it Young provides a masterclass in the positive power of reading fiction. Her protagonists are beset with the worst things that life can throw at them, thus demonstrating the potency of creating characters with whom  readers will identify, in order to punish them mercilessly, to grind them down, so that we can then witness the inspiring process of their redemption. To see someone triumph over suffering in a fictional setting convinces us that it is possible to overcome the afflictions that may trouble us in our own lives. So in terms of planning a novel or story, be aware of the power of setting up your hero in order to knock them down - as long as you chart their recover afterwards.

In that sense, My Dear is a truly inspiring read; it is also well-researched, informative and utterly beguiling - rush out and buy!