Title: Heathcliff Is Not My Name Author: Michael Stewart In: I Am Heathcliff (Kate Mosse) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Retellings Dates read: 16th May 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Borough Press Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: You hear a fox scream and an owl cry.
A great, and different point of view to the story of Heathcliff and his unhealthy obsession with Cathy.
This is a bit of a ranty, ravy type of story. Just one block
of text that recounts Heathcliff’s impressions of Cathy and her family as he
grew up. That makes his tale a little more tragic. A little more relatable.
Even if I still think he’s a douche.
There is a certain divorcing from the name Heathcliff throughout
this story. A sense that the story we all know isn’t really the true story.
That there is so much more beneath the layer of the tale. So much more to
Heathcliff than such an overwhelming douche.
Alright, so this story might have made me soften a little towards Heathcliff. It gave him a little more personality and reason for his emotions than any other retelling of Wuthering Heights I’ve read so far. But it only made me soften, not completely thaw towards the capital douche.
Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father – the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.
In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner – are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side… and Bones is turnign out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.
I couldn’t believe how much I loved this story! I knew it was
something that was going to go to the top of my favourites lists, but I had no
idea how much I would love it. I was kind of expecting another great urban
fantasy story that would sweep me along with a kick ass chick as a lead and a
great alpha male by her side. I didn’t realise that this story would seriously investigate
issues of prejudice. That it would highlight the ways in which people turn
against a minority just because they’re perceived as something a little
different.
Cat is the kind of woman I want to be. She is strong and
independent. Has a mind of her own, and even when she falls in love, she
doesn’t let it consume her. Rather, it acts as a vessel through which she can become
even more independent and accepting of herself. Something that I sometimes
struggle with. I think it’s something that we all sometimes struggle with. And
it is this independence and strength that makes her make one of the hardest
decisions of all at the end of the story. A decision I’m not really sure I
could make myself…
Most stories of this type that I’ve read don’t really have a
parental figure at all. So having Cat have a mother who starts as her driver,
and ends as her executioner was a great twist on the typical trope. Not only
did it include the difficulties of family, it also highlighted how the crimes
of the past can inform the future. And not always to the best interests of
anyone involved. Their relationship breaks your heart a little, but it also shows
that not every relationship is good or bad, but a complicated mix of something
in between.
Eavan resists sex and murder that morph her into a glaistig until Daniel Brennan, sex slaver, tempts her into both.
I’m incredibly disappointed that this novella wasn’t part of
a bigger series. I loved the idea of these fae women who rely on sex and death
to live. That one of the children of the family refuses to continue in the line
that is accepted by all of her family. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved
this as a standalone, but I quite possibly would have loved it even more if I
knew I had a whole new series to sink my literary teeth into.
In some of the older literature women are often demonised
when they are strong and sexual. It’s a recurring theme throughout a lot of the
stories that I read. And although I really don’t like the routes of the theme,
I do love reading about it. Strong, independent women that are not exactly pure
and innocent. That are sexual and powerful in their own rights. Eve manages to
encompass this, but still have that beautiful, human vulnerability that is
sometimes lacking a little in the characterisation of such women.
There is a love interest in this story, but it is a teasing
one. And, unlike many other stories which have a love interest, I didn’t
actually mind that their relationship was left open-ended. Normally I like the
couple to get together in the end of the story. To have a bit of the “ride off
into the sunset” feeling to it. There was no such thing in this story and I
completely revelled in it. After all, this story really wasn’t about a romantic
entanglement, it was about temptation and choosing your own path.
What would happen if Sleeping Beauty’s prince was just a bit off on his timing? How would the two star crossed lovers meet and live their happily ever after?
This was such a beautifully bittersweet storyline. Sleeping Beauty (the Disneyfied version) has always felt a little bittersweet to me. After all, a mistake on her parents’ behalf curses her to a hundred years in sleep. A hundred years in which her loved ones, friends, acquaintances are all unable to live their lives. And it is just the single kiss of a man who is fighting brambles which saves her. In this retelling, Wredeasks just what would happen if the prince were too early or too late? What would happen if the fairy tale just didn’t quite happen the way it was supposed to?
I’m a big believer in destiny. I like the idea that you have
a soul mate and that there is someone out there for you. I love when I’m
reading the idea of being pulled towards a certain moment or person in time. But
I’ve never really thought about what happens when you’re a little too excited
and you just don’t quite manage to get the timing down pat. What happens when an
impulsive young fool decides that he should ignore everything that has been
laid out before him. And it’s this idea that makes the storyline so
bittersweet. It made me love the ending and clutch this book to my chest with a
happy little sigh.
Title: Laughing All the Way to the Mosque Author: Zarqa Nawaz Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Biographies, Comedy, Memoirs, Muslims Dates read: 21st April – 7th May 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Virago Year: 2014 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Too late,’ said Dr McMaster.
Being a practising Muslim in a Western society is sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks. How do you make clear to the plumber that it’s essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm’s reach of the tap?
Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all.
And it’s not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making inappropriate remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband, without the children, thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie, a successful TV sitcom about htat very (horrified, then proud) community.
You have to laugh.
I’ve not really read much about Muslim culture and religion. I’ve really only recently started to delve into the world of non-fictional books. It’s an area that is absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait to continue to find more and more stories like this. Especially written as well as this novel. Nawaz is brutally honest about her life and her religion, but tempers everything that could feel quite serious with a lot of humour. I was constantly laughing out loud throughout this story. And at the end of every long day, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.
Most of the biographies that I’ve read lately follow a very
linear storyline. They’re the kind of tales which work in a very obvious and understandable
manner. They’re not jumpy, and they tend to cover a smaller span of years. Laughing All the Way to the Mosque was
completely different. Each chapter was a whole new adventure. Which made the storyline
overall incredibly jumpy. Actually it almost worked as a series of short
stories together, rather than one big, long journey.
Zarqa Nawaz not only sweeps you away with her humour and wit. But, she also helps to conceptualise and help you to understand the ways in which a coloured, Muslim woman sometimes struggles to fit into contemporary Canada. I may be from Australia, but I imagine that many people are in the same situation. This insight provided a great way in which to understand just how difficult life can be from someone who is a minority. And just how funny some of the gaffs made when you are trying to marry different world views together and fit into the society that you call your own…
Ruth thought she was raised by someone who loved her. But now she realises that that’s just not quite the case… and she’ll do anything to get out of this sticky situation.
I haven’t read many stories about voodoo or hoodoo (I know
there’s a difference, I just don’t know what that difference is…). Yet, it’s
something that fascinates me. Which of course immediately drew me into this short
story. Especially when the lead female voice was so strong and obviously
unhappy with her trainer. Unhappy with the atrocities that she is committing
over and over again because the elderly woman is asking her to.
I knew that there would be a bit of blood and death in this story
– after all, the title is Sympathy for the
Bones. What I didn’t expect was the grave digging, the darkness and the ability
of the lead female to turn this darkness to her own advantage. Though I’m not
sure if she’s good and was going to walk of into the sunset and live happily
ever after. Actually, it kind of felt like she was just following in her
mentor’s footsteps and not really pursuing the freedom that she so dearly wished
for.
Yet another new series that I would absolutely love to read! Which is kind of annoying, because I need to finish one or two of the 140 odd series that I have gotten partway through… I guess I’ll just have to add another one to the shelves. Since I honestly can’t stop thinking about this novella. There was something that was great about the lead female character, the setting in which it was in and the fantastic urban fantasy world that Drake takes you to.
One of the common themes I find in series is the idea that to
be strong and independent, to be respected, women often have to be fierce, and
kind of scary. Mira embodies this perfectly. But, what made me love this far
too much was the fact that it really bothers her when others fear her strength.
After all, her insane powers are what keeps her people safe… and makes them all
fear her completely.
Sophia Sidway, Midcity’s most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption… but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all.
I love when you read a novella with absolutely no
expectations what-so-ever. And then find that you just can’t put it down. That
it is impossible to forget. And introduces you to a world you didn’t know you
wanted to be a part of. For me, this was that kind of novella. It made me want
to go straight out and buy the rest of this series. But I didn’t, because I need
to learn some form of self-control… not something I’m admittedly enjoying at
this point.
The symbolism of the Tangle was something that drew me in
from the beginning. Not only was it a great and intriguing mystery, but the suffering
and confusion of the people was reflected in its dark, twisty interior. This
dark setting and overwhelming city almost acted like a third character in the
story, and one that I would love to meet again and again throughout this
series.
The many moral and ethical questions raised by
Kitten-Tiger’s power linger long after you turn the final page. I understand
why she decides to stop utilising it. But what if there were ways that it could
be turned for good? Should you still use it? Who gets to decide what is right
and good?
Title: Words Like Pale Stones Author: Nancy Kress In: Black Thorn, White Rose (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 6th May 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Prime Books Year: 1994 5th sentence, 74th page: He had made me forget for a few minutes what awaited me in the morning.
A young peasant girl has a boastful mother. But, when that boasting gets her into trouble, she finds that things are going to go very, very wrong.
Rumpelstiltskin is one of my preferred fairy tales. There is just something about it that I love, and the fact that it was has been used across many of the different retellings and TV series that I have watched makes it even more thrilling. Which meant that having a Rumpelstiltskin story to open the collection Black Thorn, White Rose made me really happy. It was a great, slightly darker start to these adult fairy tale retellings.
Most stories of Rumpelstiltskin paint the young woman as an
innocent, and one that falls in love with the prince. Although she still begins
this story as an innocent, the prince isn’t so… pure. Actually, he’s a class A
a-hole. And then there’s the fact that she is supposed to give up her first
born. But, as in all good retellings, the reason why she gives up her first
born isn’t quite what is expected. Actually, I really wasn’t sure why she was riding
off with her child in readiness to give him away until the very last moment.
And even now, I’m not sure that I like the way in which it ends…
Title: The Wildflowers Author: Dorothy Koomson In: I Am Heathcliff (Kate Mosse) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Romance Dates read: 6th May 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Borough Press Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: This time my body remembers how to move and takes a step back and lets in the woman holding a very large knife.
She’s being taken at knifepoint by the love of her life’s mother. A series of flashbacks and ruminations will let her finally understand all that happened ten years ago. And what’s about to happen now with a modern day Heathcliff.
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this short story. Most of the
stories in this collection have been really interesting and engaging. But not the
type of story that I would generally consider “enjoyable”. Which meant that I
was incredibly surprised when I enjoyed this so much. There was just a level of
sweetness and romance to it that the rest of the short stories in this
collection quite frankly don’t have.
I love the idea of a past love that was left, for a variety
of reasons in this case. But, the sweet revenge and poetic justice of the grandfather’s
“Heathcliff” revenge worked brilliantly. The complete turn around and the way
in which a really horrible family was forced to (maybe) attempt to become
better people worked brilliantly. And now I’m kind of sad that it’s over.
Earth and Skye 