Random Raving 3: More Than This by Patrick Ness

More Than This tells the story of Seth, who dies in the breath-taking first chapter and wakes up in a world devoid of any other people. The time Seth spends alone in this barren landscape is fascinating, and Ness is extremely skilled at grabbing the reader with only one character, and really make them care about what's going on.

Much as with my previous entry, this blog post is about another author who I've had the pleasure to meet, and in this case, actually interview.

Patrick Ness is one of the most highly renowned teen (and more recently, adult) authors currently writing. Bursting onto the scene with the Chaos Walking trilogy (soon to be made into a film) and later 'A Monster Calls', Ness is both best-selling and an award winner.

All of this meant that going into More Than This, his newest book, there was an incredible amount of expectation, and it's safe to say that it absolutely lives up to all of the hype.

Please note - major spoilers will follow!

Seth later meets Regine and Tomasz, two other fantastic characters with individuality and deeply emotional journeys, and the three together start to try to work out what has happened.

The story that unfolds is nothing short of magical. Seth, who is revealed to be gay, is dealing with the anger at a cheating lover and best friend, resentful parents, and even more, the childhood trauma he has endured.

Living near a prison, Seth allowed an escaped prisoner into the house as a young child out of fear, and the situation escalated with Seth's younger brother, Owen, being kidnapped. It's established that the resentment towards Seth stems from this, though Owen was eventually rescued and returned home safely.

This is revealed to actually be false. Instead, Owen was murdered, leading Seth's parents to chose to enter a computerised, dream world to live in where Owen was still alive, and this is the world in which Seth drowns at the beginning of the novel. The world in which he awakens is that left behind by the human race. Seth only returned to the real world because he managed to hit a particular point on his head in his death.

All in all, as poor as my explanation is, the story is absolutely brilliant and expertly told. The novel deals with a lot of difficult subject matter, from suicide, to bullying and familial problems, but it's done with tenderness and care, and never feels forced or 'preachy'.

An excellent read that anyone should pick up, regardless of age, interests or gender.

Rating: 9/10

Random Raving 2: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

I was recently lucky enough to get to meet the wonderful Emma Healey, a debut novelist who's first book, Elizabeth is Missing, has only very recently been published. Emma's work has been lauded from its first days, with nine publishers trying to secure the manuscript and a swathe of exceptional reviews from newspaper, journalists and countless media outlets around the UK (and, quite randomly, Italy). Soon to be featured on Radio 2, the book is expected to perform exceptionally.

We, at Waterstones Leeds, were lucky enough to have the opportunity to host an event with Emma in the store (which also happened to be my first ever event as official events coordinator), and even more wonderfully, I was able to secure an advance reading copy to prepare for the event, so I can put up my thoughts about the book pretty much as soon as it's published! So, here it is!

Elizabeth is Missing tells the story of Maud, an elderly woman suffering from increasingly severe dementia. Maud is convinced that her friend, Elizabeth, has gone missing, and is determined to find out what has happened. The problem is, it's hard to solve a mystery when you can't remember the clues. Simultaneously, the book explores another near-70 year old mystery surrounding Maud's sister Sukey. 

In short, Elizabeth is Missing is one of the most harrowing and emotionally-charged books that I have ever read. Dementia and similar mental illnesses have always hit me extremely hard, but Emma's book stands out by taking the perspective of the sufferer, not a carer or relative. Not only is this extremely unique, but it opens up a whole range of wonderful, almost playful, possibilities, and also makes Maud one of the most inspirational, sympathetic and endearing characters I've ever encountered in fiction.

As Emma herself commented at the event (and I myself have experienced with relatives suffering from the horrendous condition), those suffering from dementia often struggling with creating new memories, but can remember events from decades ago in stunning clarity. One of Elizabeth is Missing's best features is the fluidity between the two narratives (1946 and the present day), and the 'realness' that it brings. 

My only slight criticism might be that the ending is perhaps slightly too expected by the end, but in reality it doesn't really matter. The poise and skill with which Emma tells the story and concludes Maud's journey makes it an absolute joyous (and at times terribly emotional) read. 

Overall, a fantastic cast of supporting characters, wonderful fluidity between past and present narratives (triggered by something as small as an item of clothing or a smell), the unique and heartbreaking viewpoint and an utterly endearing protagonist equates to an astonishing read, and one any booklover, or anyone interested in mental health should hate to miss out on. 

For a debut novel it is a stunning work and my hopes for Emma's career could not be higher. 

Rating: 9/10

Random Raving 1: Intro

I'm back again, and this time it's a book blog!

As many of you will probably know, this isn't the first blog I've started. I've tried a variety of different things in the past, and I've just never stuck with it. So I'll start as I mean to go and just say that I'm not actually expecting this to last long.

On the other hand, this has probably got a better chance of lasting than anything else. As a soon-to-be graduate and full-time bookseller, I'll be spending a hell of a lot of time with books and it's meaning I buy and read far too many. The bonus of the job is that I need to read (god dammit, the trials and tribulations of work!) and so I'll have a pretty constant stream of book reviews and content to try and pop on here!

I've previously started a bit of a book journal so I'm going to upload most of my random ravings over the next few days. I'm not necessarily expecting anyone to read it, but it's primarily for my own benefit. I want to have a record of all the books of read, and this is the best way!

I've written these in a format suited for me, so it might not all make sense, but I'll do my best to tailor it for other people to read!

If you've got this far, well done, and thank you, but if not, I'll try my best not to cry myself to sleep!