**Q&A** Jackie Buxton "Glass Houses"

Fifty-one-year old Tori Williams' life implodes when she sends a text while driving  and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure and be a pariah. 

Etta, another driver involved in the fatal accident, saved Tori's life at the scene. She's a hero, so why is her life falling apart? 

Perhaps by saving Etta using any means, Tori can save herself—and in doing so, protect her own future and the future of those she loves. 

This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favor with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes, and Kathryn Croft.

I'm thrilled to be able to welcome Jackie Buxton to my blog today to talk about her new novel "Glass Houses".

Where did the inspiration come from for this novel?

I've always been interested in the human psyche, particularly when it comes to our foibles and hypocrisies. We jump a red light because we're late, for example, but conveniently forget about this as we rant at the tale of somebody committing a similar traffic violation which has more serious consequences.

Years before I wrote the first words of Glass Houses, a couple of, 'wrong place, wrong time' articles in the news where press and public had demonised the perpetrator of a foolish but not malicious act, had really got my mind buzzing with the contradictions of human behaviour. I found myself asking: if there are no unfortunate repercussions from our 'crime', if we escape without incident, are we any less guilty than the person whose 'crime' does have consequences and whose life is thrust into a desperately dark place? In a caring, cohesive society, what should the appropriate punishment be for somebody who has done something stupid but not through malice or cold-blooded evil?

It was only when I was struggling with a different story during an inspirational week of writing and tuition courtesy of The Arvon Foundation, that the penny dropped and I realised that a contemporary story of crime, punishment and redemption was what I really wanted to write. And that is where Glass Houses began.

 Can you tell me a bit about the difference between writing this novel and your previous title Tea & Chemo? Either practically or emotionally....... 

That's a great question because the writing processes were so very different and yet strangely alike. Where Glass Houses took several years to move from the idea to published novel, Tea & Chemo took eleven months. Working with fictional characters is tricky. You’re the puppeteer and sometimes the strings get tangled up or you can't get their feet to do what you want them to do and you have to unravel everything and start again. I had none of this with Tea & Chemo. I didn’t have to come up with a story because it was my story, I knew it very well, and the bloggy writing style flows easily because it's much like having a chat on page. That said, I had a similar fear for both books which ensured I never skimped on research and this was the fear of getting my facts wrong. For both books, I'd constantly stop what I was writing, check something and check it again, before I could continue. For both books I'd be musing way after I'd logged off for the night, if I could have said anything that might upset or be misconstrued.

Emotionally? Both books brought me to tears on several occasions but, as you can imagine, the tears with Tea & Chemo were so much more raw because they were real. Where the general narrative style of Tea & Chemo was straightforward, the emotions weren't. I will always wonder if writing the book in the year following treatment, 'kept me in the moment' longer than it might have done. But even if this were true, I think that I had the opportunity to write so much that was positive regarding love and support (both in friendship and professionally) that it wasn't necessarily a 'bad' moment, at all.

Glass Houses tackles a very emotive and heavy subject. Do you have any techniques or things you do to protect yourself when writing the more harrowing or intense scenes?

You know, I have cried many times when writing scenes for my characters but generally, I'm so happy that the words have had this effect on me when I already know the story, that I generally move away from the words ecstatic, optimistic that my readers might also cry which means that they're totally engrossed in the story.

I think it was the research which hit me hardest. I read lots about coma and spoke with coma victims and their loved ones and it's not the simple – person is ill, person gets better – scene you sometimes see on screen. Some of those stories of love and loss were very difficult to listen to. I also did lots of research into texting at the wheel and the effects on lives of this and other anti-social driving practices. I'm not sure I could say I have a strategy for dealing with this but it's certainly had an impact on my own behaviour. I had never texted at the wheel before, but I had lifted the phone to my ear. Some of those pictures of the crashes and the resulting impact on lives, even for those who survived, have stayed with me and I can safely say that after doing the research I've done, I would never now touch my phone in the car.

Which character did you find hardest to write and why? Which was easier and why?

Another great question. I think Gerald was probably the hardest to write. He's not a very pleasant character. He's a narcissist who characteristically blames everybody but himself for the less than perfect events in his life, but who can also be very charming, at least to the uninitiated. 'All bad baddies' aren't good in literature, I've learnt, because there's nowhere to go with them, no character development to be had, no questions to ask: they're just 'bad'. And so I spent a long time researching narcissism and revising Gerald's scenes in the hope he didn’t appear too one-dimensional. We also had to believe that his new wife, Sophie, could fall for him, at least in the first place – even when I was practically shouting at the page, Don't do it!  

I notice at the beginning of the novel there is a lot of description of glass and also it is in the title. Can you talk about this a bit?

I'm so pleased you noticed that. Obviously, I hope the title, Glass Houses, conjures up the proverb: People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Additionally, I also became quite fixated when I was writing Glass Houses with the concept that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to repair our house (for house also read: life) if we smash it all up, it will never look the same again. But this 'not the same' doesn't necessarily need to mean 'inferior'. So yes, I had a bit of fun with 'glass' and all its metaphors and I'm chuffed to little pieces (do you see what I did there…?) that you picked up on it.

 Are you working on anything new at the moment? 

I am. Its working title is The Treehouse and it's the desperate story of one woman who kept running away.

 Which authors are you inspired / influenced by?

So many! Maggie O'Farrell is right up there at the top of my list. She could wring the emotion out of a dishrag – as could Jill Dawson, another fave. I like Ian McEwan, Anita Shreve and Rachel Joyce – all wonderful story tellers, and John O'Farrell for humour. Bryce Courtney is the author who took my breath away with The Power of One and Tandia, two books which have stayed with me forever.

What are you reading at the moment or can you recommend a good book you read recently?

I've just started SJ Watson's second novel, Second Life and am totally hooked already. Before that, the most recent novel I've loved with a passion was The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood. It's the most touching of tales and written with great observation and humour. The ending is the best I've read in a long time.

Thank you so much Jackie! It's been so fantastic to hear so much more about the book and about the writing process. Thanks so much for your detailed answers and the time you have given this interview! 

If you would like to read more about Jackie then have a look at her website: 

https://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk

"Glass Houses" is available through Amazon and Urbane Publications from October 2016. 
For my review of "Glass Houses" please click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/11/glass-houses-jackie-buxton.html

For more recommendations and reviews, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) 

"Glass Houses" Jackie Buxton

Fifty-one-year old Tori Williams' life implodes when she sends a text while driving  and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure and be a pariah. 

Etta, another driver involved in the fatal accident, saved Tori's life at the scene. She's a hero, so why is her life falling apart? Perhaps by saving Etta using any means, Tori can save herself—and in doing so, protect her own future and the future of those she loves. 

This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favor with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes, and Kathryn Croft.

I had been wanting to read this novel for a while after having seen the blurb. The use of mobile phones in cars is rapidly becoming (and rightly so) very socially taboo. The advertising campaigns against drivers who do this are becoming more and more harrowing and high profile. It is also a controversial topic; it is highly emotive and it is also incredibly relevant to society at this point in time. 

What I liked about Buxton's book was that the person texting in the car was actually a 51 year old woman - a wife and mother - a woman who is responsible, bright and professional. She is not one of the stereotypes that springs to mind with this crime, or who people automatically and judgementally think of- not a reckless teenager, a speeding boy racer. This is one very normal women who makes one decision that has a devastating impact on the rest of her life and the lives of several others as well. I liked that at the beginning it is not immediately clear who caused the accident, or how, and this in itself challenges our preconceptions of what is dangerous driving and who we might immediately suspect if we'd come across the same horrific scene. 

What I also liked was that Buxton uses this situation to explore the bigger idea that we've all taken a risk, done the thing we shouldn't have, made a mistake, made the wrong decision - the question is, how do we bring ourselves back from this? How do we atone for this?

I like a book that makes me do a bit of work. I like a book that drip feeds alluring details that hint of a complicated back story and lingering secrets hidden in the back of the characters wardrobes and this novel certainly does this. As we alternate between the narratives of Tori (the driver allegedly causing the accident) and Etta (from one of the other cars in the accident) we learn through Etta's conversations with her best friend Sara that she also has more to hide:

"'Ok.' Sara held up her hands. 'I understand that some secrets do more harm if they're told.'" 

Sara has known Etta for a long time and has clearly a much deeper understanding of her character than the reader. This is a really effective way of showing the reader that Etta is a complicated character and not necessarily reliable as a narrator. Etta's obsessive and destructive behaviour generates tension, suspense, action and concern as well as making the reader want to read on and find answers to all their questions. The tension between Sara and Etta is a really effective plot device and increases throughout the novel until eventually Sara calls time on Etta's increasingly worrying behaviour. 

"Stop it Etta," she said, "No more excuses. I can't be part of this."

This book is a difficult read too. The subject matter is harrowing, heart wrenching, controversial and tests our sympathy and empathy for each character at varying different stages in the story. There are also some very poignant observations within the dialogue between characters. 

"Moments in our past can haunt us in these circumstances can't they?"

"When your child dies, you die." 

This is a very contemporary novel and Buxton has incorporated the role of Twitter and social media very naturally within this story. The use of hashtags and viral threads increases the tension and drama as well as illustrating how far the ripples from this one moment spread and just how life changing the whole event becomes as #ToritheTextingKiller has to come to terms with everything that has happened.  I loved this description of Tori at the press conference:

"More questions pinged at her like bees escaping a hive; so many stings they were indistinguishable from each other." 

Tori's performance at the press conference was very moving. She is a woman who wants to atone for what has happened, that is prepared to almost jeopardise everything her husband and lawyer have worked to protect, so deep is her guilt, grief and empathy. The scene is completely compelling and I swung between feeling Tori's pain and admiring her brave, heartfelt responses to the lawyer's cringing impatience to just get her away from the press and out of the back door. It will surely be a scene that divides opinions amongst readers and discussions in book groups. 

There are frequent references to broken glass throughout the whole novel; the pane in the green house, glass shattered on the floor, glass shattered at the scene of the crash, knocked glasses from the table.... Sometimes subtle, sometimes more conspicuous, Buxton is clearly using glass metaphorically to illustrate the fragility of life as well as the saying "People in Glass Houses...." which touches on the ideas of judgement, blame and prejudice in the story. 

There are some wise words spoken by the characters. There is a lot to think about. But this novel does not preach to the readers, it is not trying to teach us a moral code. Ultimately it is a good story of two women who have to live with the mistakes and decisions they have made, and how they try to move forward with this. 

"Nobody walks across this earth unblemished," she said. "It's how we deal with our mistakes which makes us who we are." 

One of the reviewers on Goodreads refers to this book as a "moral maze" and I think that actually summarises the novel very well. I would recommend this book. It's not an easy read, it's not really a happy read but it is an important one.  Buxton can clearly handle a complicated topic and can develop realistic characters. This novel would be a great choice for fans of Liane Moriarty, Kathryn Croft and Jodi Picioult. 

"Glass Houses" was published on 1st October 2016 by Urban Publications. 

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) 

"The Girls" Lisa Jewell

This story is set in London, where the picturesque houses encircle a communal garden. Everyone knows everyone. The children roam freely, in and out of each other's houses and as familiar with each other as siblings. When Clare moves in with her daughters Grace and Pip, aged eleven and twelve, she thinks she has found a real oasis for them - especially considering the recent traumatic events they have lived through.

But then one night Grace is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden. What happened? Who did this?

Lisa Jewell is a hugely popular author with a dedicated following and this novel was picked as a Richard & Judy read recently. Lots of people have commented on how she has moved to "the dark side" with this story compared with some of her earlier romantic comedies and I would agree, this book is a more sinister and nods more towards the thriller genre. However, essentially I think it is a novel about human nature, relationships, parenting, jealousy, grief and love. I think what Jewell shows in this book is her interest in characters and their interaction with each other.

I had bought this book months and months ago when it was nominated in the Richard & Judy reads this summer but it was languishing on my TBR pile. On Friday a friend asked me if I'd read it as she'd just done it with her book group and they'd all disagreed over the ending. By Sunday I could resist no more - I had to see what it was in the story that had led to such a discussion!

I'm so glad I bumped it up the TBR pile and read it! It was the perfect tonic for a wintery weekend. It's easy, light and engaging yet with enough tension, twists and revelations to keep you hooked until the end.

There are several threads of mystery and tension running through "The Girls". Clare and her daughters have lived through some very emotionally difficult times and Clare definitely carries a sense of fear and being found. There are plenty of unresolved issues between herself and her husband and these are carefully drip fed to the readers in a way that builds up a steady sense of suspense and curiosity.

Although we begin the story with the discovery of Grace, and therefore know that ultimately the we need to find out how she ended up in this state and who knows what really happened to her, we are steered away from this moment. Jewell introduces us to a wealth of characters and their roles within the close community that is formed around this communal garden. We have to start piecing the story together a little. We have to get to know each of the characters and through getting to know them more, we begin to see their weaknesses, their fallibility, their secrets.

I was intrigued by Tyler, a disturbed teenager, full of jealousy, possessiveness and a little competitive. But, once more of her situation was unveiled, although you may not necessarily sympathise with her completely, it was easier to understand her motivation and reactions to certain situations. She was very strong in my mind and very easy to engage with.

I also though Adele was an interesting character. I wasn't always sure about her culpability towards the end and I liked that she evolved in to a more complex character than I initially credited her to be. She home-schools her children, she is an 'earth mother' sort of parent, she's loving, generous and kind. But still sometimes I felt there was a hint of something a little uncertain in her bubbling away at the back of her mind.

Pip is probably the star of the show and I liked her letters to her absent father. Jewell captures the voice of an eleven year old realistically - often heartbreakingly so. Pip is a switched on, sensible, honest and perceptive child. Maybe older than her years suggest.

The male characters are as well crafted as the female ones. They all invite suspicion and judgement, ensuring that we are lead up and down several garden paths before the final few twists are revealed.

For me, this was a very good weekend read. I pictured it all vividly. I liked the spread of characters who were all colourful, three dimensional and individual. There was lots going on but not too much that you couldn't keep track of the various character's stories. There was suspense and mystery but it was enjoyably engaging rather than chilling. I really like Jewell's style and will definitely be going through her back catalogue of titles for the more recent ones that I have missed.

I think it would make a fantastic TV series. And it seems from what my friend tells me it makes a good book group choice too!

The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the slightly nagging feeling Jewell has left me with about my own house and the way my children play! We also live in a block of terraces that surround a communal garden. In the summer months my children do run a little feral (alright, the feral bit isn't just confined to the summer....) and the garden is full of various children and neighbours. We often seem to acquire extra people for lunch or tea. We frequently forget that our 'discussions' can be heard by an audience of many!

 I mean, of course I would never ever curtain twitch or listen to conversations while I'm pottering about outside (!), but the whole thing about who your neighbours really are and living a little on top of people is fascinating. It's that old thing of 'behind closed doors' I guess! I will be looking at everyone a little bit more suspiciously next time we all head out for an impromptu barbecue!

"The Girls" is available in paperback and I bought it on offer in WHSmiths as part of the Richard and Judy Book Club selection. I'm off for a coffee with my friend now to see what exactly it was that her book group disagreed on!

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"A Portable Shelter" by Kirsty Logan

In their tiny, sea-beaten cottage on the north coast of Scotland, Liska and Ruth await the birth of their first child.

Each passes the time by telling the baby stories, trying to pass on the lessons they’ve learned: tales of circuses and stargazing, selkie fishermen and domestic werewolves, child-eating witches and broken-toothed dragons.

But they must keep their storytelling a secret from one another, as they’ve agreed to only ever tell the plain truth. So to cloak their tales, Ruth tells her stories when Liska is at work, to a background of shrieking seabirds; Liska tells hers when Ruth is asleep, with the lighthouse sweeping its steady beam through the window.

This is an absolutely stunning book. It is a complete gem. It is one to treasure and return to again and again.

"A Portable Shelter" is a collection of short stories linked together by introductions from Liska and Ruth as they take it in turns to speak to their unborn child. It is only 176 pages long, the stories are short and I found the shorter length and brevity of the narratives really effective.

Kirsty Logan's writing is mesmerising, hypnotic and exquisite as well as often brutal. She tackles stories about grief, loss, love, kindness and sadness with a sense of magic and fairytales. The prose is very poetic and at times just like the lull of the sea surrounding the characters.

There is so much about story telling in this very short volume. The opening line sets the premise:

"I'm going to tell you a story. You just stay there, warm and cosy, all cooried in."

But not all stories have happy endings. Not all stories are true and not all stories bring comfort, but this collection seems to show us that stories are a way of learning to deal with truths, nightmares, fears and tragedy. As well as how intrinsic stories are and how much we need stories to survive.

"The dark brings stories, and I want to share one."

"Life is not a fairy tale. It's brighter and darker, longer and briefer, duller and more magical. It's full of contradictions, but one thing it's not neat." 

"People always have to make things into stories so they're easier. So they can tell them to other people, to get sympathy or a laugh, to try and explain themselves. 'I only did this because this happened to me.' But life isn't like that." 

I enjoyed the first story "Cutting Teeth" which is told by Ruth about her parents.

"My father, Caleb, worked on a rib boat on Loch Ness. He took tourists out on trips and spun yarns about the things that lurked in the deep waters and dark woods. Some were true, some were not - but what does it matter? There's no such thing as a true story." 

It's a brave story to start the collection with. Initially there is a lot about the relationship between the parents - "The bed was not so little any more. The space between them felt wide as the loch," - it develops into something far more fantastical. The images of the mother are like something from folklore, or a myth or a fantasy. There's an eclectic mix of tradition, Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected, and the Grimm Brothers. Logan's writing is unusual, quirky and refreshing as she combines all these influences- but then it is also contrasted with stories like "The Perfect Wife" which are given a much more contemporary and realistic feel.

I thought this was highly original and hugely imaginative book. I really enjoyed the writing and the lyricism, the poetics and the description. I loved the images and the narrative voices. If I had to pick a favourite story it would be "Stars, Witch, Bear" which is an interpretation of the tale of Hansel and Gretel where Logan captures some real sadness and poignancy.

"The cruellest things do not hide in the dark. They sit in full view in the sunlight and in the clearings. I had found an ending. But I did not want it." 

I would recommend this slim book of magical storytelling. It's enchanting as well as bold. It's a special book.

"All stories contain a truth if you look hard enough - but it might not be a good truth." 

I bought a copy after reading about it on Twitter. "A Portable Shelter" was published by Vintage on 3rd November 2016.

For more reviews and recommendations, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"The Harbour Master" by Daniel Pembrey

Maverick cop Henk van der Pol is thinking about retirement when he finds a woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour. His detective instincts take over, even though it’s not his case. But Henk’s bigger challenge is deciding who his friends are – not to mention a vicious street pimp who is threatening Henk’s own family. As his search for the killer of the woman in Amsterdam Harbour takes him into a corrupt world of politics and power, Henk finds himself facing some murky moral choices.

Well it's difficult not to pick up a book which has a quote from one of my literary idols, Susan Hill, on the front cover! She endorses the novel as a "cracking tale with verve and style" and of course, I'm not going to disagree with her!

This is the first instalment in a series of crime thrillers set in Amsterdam. Pembury establishes a sense of place and setting extremely well, with vivid and authentic detail. The description is not contrived or forced but subtle references, inferences and the odd slip into colloquial language locate the reader very firmly in Amsterdam. His creation of the docks, harbour and Amsterdam itself are convincing and make it very easy for the reader to picture the location even if we have never visited there.

The book begins with the discovery of a dead body. Henk watches and his description of the body is brutally ugly it prepares us for the complexity and nature of this crime thriller.

"I had my phone out, in order to film the removal of the body. The woman's thighs and arms had swollen up to Frankenstein-like proportions, her dark trousers and top so stretched that they'd ripped at the seams."

It did remind me a little of the one of the opening sequences of the French TV drama "Spiral", but thankfully, although Pembury immerses us in a dark world of illegal human trafficking and the red light district, the violence and any temptation to add gratuitous detail is kept to a minimum. This is a writer interested in characters, human behaviour and a complex narrative.

Henk is an interesting character. Pembury has created a very distinctive voice which feels original and also full of gravitas. I found that he was a man I was able to picture quickly, and that his intelligence, determination, thoroughness and persistence was consistent throughout the novel. Pembury paints a very good picture of a man with integrity -

"...excuses wouldn't help the woman hoisted out of the harbour. She didn't need excuses, she needed justice." 

-and he is definitely a protagonist who can sustain further instalments as Pembury develops this in to a detective series.

It was interesting to read about a police office at the end of his career and an interesting choice by Pembury, but it works very successfully and the narrative voice feels authentic and convincing. It also adds a further level of intrigue and risk as Henk struggles to stay on the case and avoid being usurped by younger men.

"You've been a good cop, Henk. My advice? Have people here remember you that way."

I really enjoyed Henk's relationship with his wife. Initially I wasn't sure if the formal way in which they often responded to each other was amusing or too detached but again, it works.

"Mrs van der Pol was in her house slippers, watching a rerun of some talent show competition I vaguely recognised, working her way through a jar of English liquorice." 

Henk is actually a man who is very committed to his family. And when their safety is threatened it adds a great sense of tension and danger to the story.

"Was I so obsessed with Slavic that I'd created the very problems for me and my family I was now trying desperately to solve?"

Henk's relationship with his daughter is captured equally well. I enjoyed his conversation with her when he notices a diamond ring on her finger - it actually reflects so much about both characters and the dynamics between them.

"Do you know if it's OK?.....A conflict free diamond." 
"That's hardly a question I can ask now is it? Oh thanks so much for the lovely gift, can I just see the paperwork for it?" 

Pembury has clearly spent a lot of time researching this novel. He has obviously dedicated time to making sure every detail is accurate and that he tells a story that stands up to the scrutiny of serious crime readers. He tackles complex and contemporary issues with confidence. I was intrigued to read that Pembury lived in East Amsterdam for a while and spent time with an undercover team from the Dutch National Crime Squad. This has clearly inspired him to write this first instalment of the Harbour Master series.

"The Harbour Master" is quite an involved read. It's not overly long at just over 300 pages, but the prose is quite dense and sophisticated in style. There is a lot of information and threads to follow and although the plot moves along, it is not a book I would describe as a traditional page turner. However, this book will definitely appeal to crime fans who are looking for a new detective to follow and it definitely has the grit, realism and depth that readers want from European Noir books.

The early reviews of this book are excellent and Goodreads says:

The Harbour Master delivers for Amsterdam what fans of Scandinavian crime fiction have come to love: a fascinating light shone on the dark side of a famously liberal society, combining vivid characterisation with ice-cold suspense.

"The Harbour Master" is published by No Exit Press on the 10th November 2016.

My thanks to No Exit Press for a review copy of this novel.

If you would like to find out more about Daniel Pembury, this book or No Exit Press, please visit their website no exit.co.uk or follow them on Twitter @noexitpress @DPemb

If you would like to see more of my reviews and recommendations, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"Perfume River" by Robert Olen Butler

From one of America’s most important writers, Perfume River is an exquisite novel that examines family ties and the legacy of the Vietnam War through the portrait of a single North Florida family.

Robert Quinlan is a seventy-year-old historian, teaching at Florida State University, where his wife Darla is also tenured. Their marriage, forged in the fervor of anti-Vietnam-war protests, now bears the fractures of time, both personal and historical, with the couple trapped in an existence of morning coffee and solitary jogging and separate offices. For Robert and Darla, the cracks remain under the surface, whereas the divisions in Robert’s own family are more apparent: he has almost no relationship with his brother Jimmy, who became estranged from the family as the Vietnam War intensified. Robert and Jimmy’s father, a veteran of WWII, is coming to the end of his life, and aftershocks of war ripple across their lives once again, when Jimmy refuses to appear at his father’s bedside. And an unstable homeless man whom Robert at first takes to be a fellow Vietnam veteran turns out to have a deep impact not just on Robert, but on his entire family.

So I admit it, I was a little daunted when I started this as it is written by a Pulitzer Prize winner - I was expecting something heavy and intense. However I found that I was quite gripped and was genuinely enjoying the story more than I had anticipated. It is in no doubt exceptionally well written literary fiction, but I found it a very absorbing, concise read with a distinctive narrative style and distinctive protagonist. There was so much in the book that really appealed and worked for me. As they say, never judge a book by its cover .......

The very topic of the Vietnam War and the dysfunctional relationships within the protagonist's family mean that it is not without intensity, emotion or gravitas but Butler's writing is very readable and very engaging. It is a relativity short book at around 250 pages so the story is actually very contained and focussed. Although there are quite a range of issues and relationships explored in the story, it was not overwhelming or overly complicated. I became immersed in Robert's world very quickly, I felt very much part of his journey and I found the alternate sections where the narrative switched to one of the few other main characters did not interrupt the flow of the story or the connection between the reader and Robert.

I would perhaps have liked some chapter breaks but that's more to do with the fact that I always struggle to put a book down and a chapter break might have made it easier to take a pause! However, reading without the enforced structure of chapters does increase the fluidity of the novel. Perhaps it accentuates that it is a little more of a shorter novel which is quite introverted, focussing on the build up, tensions and flashbacks which are preparing us for the climatic denouement.

The Vietnam War isn't something I can personally relate to and I wouldn't necessarily chose to read a book based around a man's experience in that war. Equally, I probably read more novels with female leads but I found it a really refreshing perspective to read about something different. I also really enjoyed the male characterisation and it reminded me of other American novels with male protagonists which I have enjoyed in the past.

"What are Robert Quinlan and his wife feebly arguing about when the homeless man slips quietly in? Moments later Robert could hardly have said. ObamaCare or quinoa or their granddaughter's new boyfriend. Something."

These are the intriguing opening lines. Effortlessly establishing atmosphere, character and a sense of time and place as well as tension. There are repeated references to specific brands which I found rooted the novel firmly in today's society as well as creating a contrast with some of the more dream like sequences, internal wanderings and flashbacks.

"They are focussed thinkers, Robert and Darla. They would, if pressed to consider the matter, attribute some of their focus to the mutual respect they have for each other's work. They need give each other not a single thought once they are sitting in these long familiar rooms."

The marriage between Robert and Darla is quite fascinating. A couple who seem detached and foreign from each other yet still connected. I thought the fact that "Their kindles have their own lights" was hugely metaphorical for how they lived their shared existence. I liked the description of their bedtime routine:

""Goodnight" she says, aware of the vanishing of his light in her periphery. "Goodnight," he says, though they have long ago agreed that the formality of his reply is unnecessary.....Nor do they kiss. They are so very familiar with each other. And that familiarity has become the presiding expression of their intimacy."

And the use of "a utilitarian kiss, surely, conveying gratitude for a courtesy rendered" equally effective as Butler explores the dynamics and relationship between the couple.

The other relationship which is explored in the novel is the one between Robert and his father and then that with his estranged brother, who has his own issues to confront.

"You didn't choose your parents. You didn't choose your land of birth. If you and they have nothing in common, if they are always, irrevocably at odds with each other, is it betrayal simply to leave family and country behind? No." (Jimmy, Robert's brother)

Robert's fixation with his experience in the war dominate the novel and even though it is so far in his past it slips into his daily thoughts. The war divides the brothers as well as their relationship with their father. A father who Robert is desperate to gain approval from and so set to follow in his footsteps, takes himself off to Vietnam.

".....who goes to war and sleeps and eats and drinks and writes letters and listens to music and falls safely in love in another country with an exotic girl and writes a resume and plans a future life and goes home; who goes to war to please your dad, to receive your dad's approval, to make your dad proud, to win your dad's love."

A sense of underlying violence runs subtly between the words, ever present in a manner that becomes more threatening until the final climax, when suddenly the action and drama becomes quite breathtaking.

This is an eloquent and mesmerising tale. The issues raised are profound and moving but the prose feels understated, simple and subtle. It is a book exploring the apathy of a long term marriage, mortality, ageing, family, love, estrangement and war. It is about damage, physically and emotionally. There are many lines which linger with you and many moments where it feels as if you need some time to absorb what Butler might be implying, suggesting or alluding to. It is intellectual and broaches many quite philosophical questions but overall, I found it did this effortlessly and was highly readable.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy literary fiction, American fiction, books with male protagonists and reading something that can conjure up quite complex situations and characterisations through a brevity of language and description.

My thanks to No Exit Press for an advanced copy of this book.

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

**The TBR Book Tag**

Thanks to Cleo for posting with the TBR Book Tag and getting me thinking about mine! I'm wondering if I'm really brave enough to confront the reality of what is going on with my TBR pile, and the various TBR piles I have hidden under different guises, but any excuse to distract myself further by talking about books rather than actually getting on with reading them....!! 

So here goes.....

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

I only really 'keep track' of my TBR pile of ARCs. I have a separate diary just for keeping track of blog posts and publication dates. I then scribble in which days I need to read which book by so the review will be ready for a blog tour or publication day. I also have a list on Goodreads and a wish list on Amazon but these are for books I want to read rather than ARCs - which always take priority!

Which book has been on your TBR pile the longest?

"Nora Webster" by Colm Toibin

Which book has been most recently added to your TBR pile?

I just ordered this paperback at the weekend:

 

On a January morning, Beth and Steve bring three-day-old Ismae home from the hospital. A little girl to complete their suburban family.

Except Beth knows that Ismae is different. And that, as she gets older and stronger, her difference will become more obvious.
As the future Beth imagined grows even more out of reach, the walls of their vast house close in on her, isolating her from Steve.
Then she makes a terrible discovery ...
Will Ismae's difference break her family apart? Or will Beth be able to see that it's the one thing that can save her?

I've also just been approved for the new Dinah Jefferies coming out in February so I'm thrilled about that too! 

Is there a book on your TBR pile just because of its cover?

Almost certainly!! I can't think of one off the top of my head but I've always bought Carys Bray's books because of the cover and also "The Finding of Martha Lost" for the same reason. That's the one bad thing about using a kindle- I love the covers but never see them!

Is there a book on your TBR pile that you never plan on reading?

Not at the moment. I tend to go through my TBR shelf (the virtual and the real one) and delete / take off books that have been sitting there for a long time and I just don't think I'll ever get to read. They don't get thrown out or anything shocking like that, but they will just go elsewhere for a while! 

Is there a book on your TBR pile that everyone's read apart from you?

Yes! "The Sister" by Louise Jensen. Shame on me!! The other book before this was "Missing Presumed" - and then I started to put it off because I'd heard so much hype about it - but it did not disappoint and I'm sure this one won't either!! 

Grace hasn't been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie's words, the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie's. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn't know about her best friend. 

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie's father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie's sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan's home. 

But something isn't right. Things disappear, Dan's acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace's mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger? 

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie ...or was there?

Is there a book on your TBR pile that everyone recommends to you?

Um, yes, hundreds!!! I've got no will power when it comes to books and there are so many fab bloggers out there reading fab books! I think it's probably this one - I saw the author at Killer Women but since then have read a flurry of review on Twitter and really really want to read it!

Two people in exile. Two secrets. As the past tightens its grip, there may be no escape… TV presenter Allis Hagtorn leaves her partner and her job to take voluntary exile in a remote house on an isolated fjord. But her new job as housekeeper and gardener is not all that it seems, and her silent, surly employer, 44-year-old Sigurd Bagge, is not the old man she expected. As they await the return of his wife from her travels, their silent, uneasy encounters develop into a chilling, obsessive relationship, and it becomes clear that atonement for past sins may not be enough… 

Is there a book on your TBR pile your dying to read?

Yes, all of them!! 

But these two in particular:

I'm also very keen to read "What Alice Knew" by T A Cotterell which I chased the poor publicist for like some kind of starved animal.... *shame* 

How many books are on your TBR pile?

Don't even go there..... I don't even count that!! 

I have 10 on my shelf via NetGalley, 30 downloaded on my Kindle (older titles swirling around on a cloud somewhere), probably 50 paperbacks piled up by my bed, and that still doesn't include my Goodreads list or my Amazon wish list....*sigh*

Well, I sure don't have time to hang around here blogging......reading and reviewing calls! That was fun though and great to think about what is on my list and how I could organise myself a little bit more efficiently!! 

Why don't you have a go? What's on your TBR pile?!

For reviews, recommendations and more bookish chat follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)