Over on my editing website, I’ve started a mailing list so that I can better keep in touch with people outside of social media.
If you’d like to be the first to hear about blog posts I’ve published, new service offerings, editing/story coaching slot availability and what I’ve been up to, then sign up. I don’t have a freebie (yet, anyway), but I promise not to bombard you with email. And when I do have a freebie, I’ll make sure to make it available to existing mailing list subscribers. 🙂
Photo of The Lost Future of Pepperharrow book by Natasha Pulley. Cover is lime green with gold-embossed dragonflies flying around an octopus which is inside of a lightbulb. Book is propped against a green houseplant.
After reading both The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and Natasha Pulley’s related short story “The Eel Singers” (from the collection The Haunting Season, Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights), I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this. I loved spending time with Thaniel, Mori and Six in Pulley’s richly re-imagined Victorian London.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, though I didn’t feel that the narrative pulled together quite as coherently as it did in the earlier stories. This may have been, in part, due to the complexity of the story itself. There are more viewpoint characters in this novel, and the narrative jumps between settings a bit more than it did in the first book. Mori’s background also felt a tiny bit muddled in places, but that may have been intentional (or maybe I didn’t read those parts closely enough). That said, the glimpses into Mori’s life in Meiji-era Japan prior to meeting Thaniel were fascinating to read.
Pulley does a fantastic job of integrating her research, cultural and linguistic knowledge into the story. As always, I love how she blends fantasy with historical fiction, exploring what could (or might?) have happened. The steampunk elements are super fun too.
If you haven’t read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street yet then I’d recommend reading that novel first, as this novel builds upon what happens there. If, like me, you love that book, then you’ll probably want to read this one too.
Photo of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street book by Natasha Pulley. Book is sitting on a table in front of green houseplant. Book cover has green letters and gold embossing on a picture of a pocketwatch.
Picture of both novels next to each to each other in front of houseplant.
I discovered toward the second half of August, that the Edinburgh Book Festival was online this year, and completely free. It was an exciting discovery. I’ve always wanted to attend the festival in person, but the travel and expense made it difficult for me to do so.
I wasn’t able to attend everything the festival had to offer (although it was online, they still had a huge number of offerings—over 140!). So, I decided to focus on the events that were of the most interest to me. These were primarily discussions of historical and magical realist novels and issues within the writing community.
In all, I was able to attend seven events, most of which I enjoyed. These were: Shokoofeh Azar: After the Iranian Revolution, Maaza Mengiste: When Italy Invaded Ethiopia, Alexander McCall Smith in conversation with Ruth Davidson: For the Love of Humankind, Ross Benjamin & Daniel Kehlmann: When History Prefigures Our Own Times, Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? A panel discussion, Elif Shafak: Writing the World’s Wrongs and finally Matt Haig: The Library of Second Chances.
Shokoofeh Azar’s latest novel, which was shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize. Azar is the first ever Iranian writer to be shortlisted for the prize.
Shokoofeh Azar: After the Iranian Revolution
Shokoofeh Azar was in conversation with Marjorie Lotfi Gill about her novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree. Her novel was translated from the original Farsi, but the translator does not wish to be named due to fears for their safety (Azar herself was granted asylum in Australia in 2011).
Azar gave a moving account of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, which blends magical realism and historical fiction. The novel follows the story of one family in the decade after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the many changes that are imposed upon them as a result. Azar’s novel was inspired by some of her own cultural experiences and intertwines Persian history and folklore.
One of the cultural beliefs she discussed was the idea that the dead are always with us in the form of ghosts that walk among the living. This idea manifests in her novel in the form of a ghostly narrator—a 13-year-old girl named Bahar. Azar also talked about the rich literary tradition of Persia and how this inspired her writing. As she wrote, she opened herself up to all that her culture and memory had to offer, and this helped her to better tell her story.
I’m very much looking forward to reading this!
Maaza Mengiste’s second published novel, longlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize.
Maaza Mengiste: When Italy Invaded Ethiopia
Maaza Mengiste discussed her novel with Jess Brough. The Shadow King is historical fiction, centring on the role women played in defending Ethiopia against the invading Italian fascists in 1935. Mengiste discussed her motivation for writing the novel, the research she did and her writing process, among several other topics. Her talk was multi-layered and thought-provoking.
What stood out most to me was her discussion around the voids of history. She discussed how this applied to Ethiopia historically as a nation—the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 set the stage for World War 2, but this isn’t something many people know about. Mengiste then talked about how the story of the Ethiopian soldiers who fought off the invading fascists has also largely disappeared, and how this battle included Ethiopian women.
Mengiste said it took her ten years to write the novel. One of the reasons for this was because she had to stop at one point and go back to re-research and re-write after she learned from her mother of the role Ethiopian women played in the war, which she was initially unaware of. The other reason was because she felt there were so many stories she needed to listen to in order to write this book.
This was where I felt there was a similarity of process between Maaza Mengiste and Shokoofeh Azar—they both listened to the voices of those who’d gone before them in order to tell a deeper and more honest story. This reminded me of Stephen King’s book OnWriting: A Memoir of the Craft, where he talks about opening himself up and simply listening to his characters, rather than trying to control the process.
Maaza Mengiste encouraged attendees to question the voids of history and what may lie there. She illustrated this by discussing the medium of photography and showing several old photographs taken in Ethiopia (photography plays a large part in her novel). In one of the photographs, a white colonialist stands beside an Ethiopian man and the photographer’s shadow is projected onto the image between the two men. She interpreted this image as being about the two white men—the photographer and the colonialist. The Ethiopian man was an accessory. What is his story?
Towards the end of the discussion, Mengiste showed the audience a little piece of laminated paper she’d made for herself many years ago. On it was the phrase: Give yourself space to fail. She said that if you’re not giving yourself space to fail then you’re not really pushing yourself hard enough. I thought this was an inspiring way of looking at life. I may even have to make my own laminated card to set on my desk as a gentle reminder.
I recently started reading The Shadow King and, so far, I’m really enjoying it.
One of Alexander McCall Smith’s latest publications. He has written and contributed to more than 100 books and is one of the world’s most prolific authors.
Alexander McCall Smith with Ruth Davidson: For the Love of Humankind
I enjoyed Ruth Davidson’s discussion with Alexander McCall Smith—his infectious optimism and love of humanity shone through. This was especially refreshing given all that has happened in the world these last six months or so. He discussed the settings for his stories and how important a sense of place is to him as a component of story. Not having been outside of my own neighbourhood for months now, his discussion of life in Botswana, Malmӧ and Scotland transported me (setting is such an important aspect of story for me too). He also talked about his creative process—I was amazed to discover he writes effortlessly, and with little rewriting. McCall Smith described this as his having trained his subconscious in such a way that the story just comes. What a wonderful skill to have developed! I look forward to escaping into more of his stories in the future.
Daniel Kehlmann’s novel Tyll, translated by Ross Benjamin, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize this year.
Ross Benjamin & Daniel Kehlmann: When History Prefigures Our Own Times
Ross Benjamin and Daniel Kehlmann were in conversation with Stuart Kelly about Tyll. Daniel Kehlmann discussed his research and the writing of the book while Ross Benjamin spoke of his experience translating the novel.
I expected to enjoy this talk more than I actually did. Perhaps it was the way it was billed—as comparing the pre-Enlightenment era with our own. While there was some discussion of the similarities, I didn’t find the conversation around this to be as deep or engaging as it might have been. But perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for a deep, political and cultural discussion at the time? In any case, their discussion around how the German translation of the book was carried out was compelling. I didn’t realise how much of an art translation is!
One of Kit de Waal’s novels. Kit de Waal was one of the panel speakers for: Who’s Afraid of the Working Class?
Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? A panel discussion
This was an insightful discussion of working-class art and artists, including writers, and their representation (or lack thereof) in Britain today. The panel featured filmmaker Paul Sng, actor Valerie Edmond, writer Ian Rankin, performer Travis Alabanza and writer Kit de Waal.
One of the points that stood out to me was their discussion around opportunities in the arts. Working-class people start out much farther behind their upper and middle-class counterparts, through no fault of their own. Although the artistic community has recently started to grapple with the inequalities within it, most new entrants to publishing, for example, are white and middle-class. As jobs in the publishing industry are notoriously poorly paid, it’s often only those young people whose parents can afford to continue supporting them who are able to enter the field.
The same applies to other fields in the arts, such as acting. Valerie Edmond spoke of her experience travelling down to London (from Edinburgh) for an interview early in her career, only to be made to wait at length for her interviewers to return from their boozy lunch. By the time they finally returned, hours later, they suggested postponing her interview until the following day. However, Edmonds, being working-class, could neither afford to stay in London overnight, nor did she know where she would go. As her return ticket had already been booked and her bus was due soon, she had to leave and forego the opportunity (which, by this point, she was put off pursuing anyway).
They also spoke about the richness of working-class culture and how neglected its representation is in the British arts.
I very much appreciated this session. I hope it was widely listened to.
Elif Shafak’s latest publication.
Elif Shafak: Writing the World’s Wrongs
I think what I appreciated most about this talk was Elif Shafak’s candour and her empathetic perspective on recent world events. One of the topics she discussed was the plurality of individuals and humanity. For example, when asked where she’s from, she says she’s from many places as she is of many places, having lived in different cultures and cities all around the world. She noted that even if someone hasn’t lived in other places, they still inhabit many different worlds. Someone can be both a woman and a worker, for example. They may also be LGBTQ. In this way their identity crosses over many different communities. She said that it’s for this reason that she doesn’t like identity politics—it divides us rather than bringing us together. Although I’ve yet to read any of her work, I look forward to doing so.
Matt Haig’s latest novel.
Matt Haig: The Library of Second Chances
Matt Haig discussed his latest novel with Peggy Hughes, Programme Director for Writers’ Centre Norwich.
I’ve read several of Matt Haig’s books and so was very much looking forward to this talk. It didn’t disappoint. Matt Haig discussed the state of the world right now as well as the state of his mind, what it’s like to struggle with depression and anxiety (especially during this pandemic), and, of course, the plot of The Midnight Library.
Rather than recap what the story is about here, I’ll let you read the blurb for yourself:
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.
The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.
Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
I love the sound of that story and can’t wait to read it.
It was great to be able to attend the Edinburgh Book Festival this year. Who knows, maybe I’ll even make it in person next year.
Did you attend the Edinburgh Book Festival this year? If so, what were the highlights for you?
For anyone who follows me here and is also interested in my editing services, I thought I should share the news about my new editing website. I’ve upgraded my editing website from WordPress to Squarespace. The address, however, is the same: https://www.kendraolsoneditorial.com/. I’m still in the process of migrating my editing blog posts over, so those won’t appear just yet. Otherwise, I’m hoping to post more to this (WordPress) blog again, in the new year.
Picture of the book held up in front of the window. Book cover has a picture of a lit candle in an old-fashioned candle holder with gold-tinged greenery circling around it. Authors names are listed on the leaves.
Last December when I was doing my Christmas shopping, I saw this in Waterstones and, on an impulse, bought it as a little present for myself. I think what drew me in was the gorgeous cover (my photo really doesn’t do it justice), and the descriptions of the stories felt very seasonal as well. I enjoyed all of them and though they didn’t all frighten me, they all contained frightening elements.
The stories included are: A Study in Black and White by Bridget Collins, Thwaite’s Tenant by Imogen Hermes Gowar, The Eel Singers by Natasha Pulley, Lily Wilt by Jess Kidd, The Chillingham Chair by Laura Purcell, The Hanging of the Greens by Andrew Michael Hurley, Confinement by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Monster by Elizabeth Macneal.
My favourites were The Eel Singers by Natasha Pulley and Confinement by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, though it was very hard to choose (The Chillingham Chair by Laura Purcell comes in close behind).
The Eel Singers was the first story I’d read by Natasha Pulley and her fascinating characters and atmospheric setting drew me in right away. I’ve subsequently gone on to read several of her novels. This was one of the stories that felt creepy but not downright frightening to me, which I count as a good thing (I like being scared, but I’ve found that my tolerance for horror has waned over the years).
On the other hand, I found Confinement by Kiran Millwood Hargrave to be terrifying. The images I formed in my mind from reading this story are still with me. I wouldn’t read this one alone in the dark at night! That said, the writing is excellent, as is the way the story is structured. I felt sucked into the story world and unable to escape.
This Christmas, I’ll be gifting this book to the Gothic fiction fans in my life.
I recently wrote a post for my editing blog about what I’ve been up to this summer (hint: it involves editorial training!). Here’s the post, if you’d like to read it.
Kendra Olson 