The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans

Dates Read: 09/02/2021-22/02/2021

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I rather enjoyed this one if I’m honest, it’s ages since I’ve read a good old family saga. I’m not familiar with the author’s body of work so maybe I don’t have the context of her regular readers, but I didn’t find the pacing of this in any way slow as others have suggested. Yes, it’s sweeping across 80 years so there’s a lot to take in, but the central characters within a single family are absorbing and well drawn.

What’s interesting is that their relationships are defined in many ways by what they don’t say and share with the rest of the family. Behind a veneer of beauty and success, there’s trauma, post traumatic stress, inadequacy, lies, self-indulgence, all manner of human failings. At the heart of the story, though, is love, and understanding that truly loving someone means accepting them for everything that they are, whether you like it or not. Family ties don’t always mean blood ties, what connects us is more than that; the shared history, people, places and experiences that define who we are.

Set against the idyllic backdrop of the family house (the Bosky) at the coast, this had me reminiscing about my own childhood – I swear it never rained and we were always out playing and usually filthy. The Bosky here almost becomes its own character, ever present and always a source of comfort, as well as a catalyst, and, until the closing chapters, where it’s always summer.

It’s a pretty beefy tome but don’t be put off by this. It was perfect reading for a dark, cold, locked-down February – escaping into a summer at the seaside was just what I needed!

The Witch Finder’s Sister by Beth Underdown

Dates Read: 29/01/2021-09/02/2021

My Rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’ve taken a while since finishing this one to actually write my review because, if I’m honest, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it. I know and understand that this was an important period in the history of our country, and it feels a little strange knowing that the central character, Matthew Hopkins, really existed and was instrumental in the deaths of so many named in the book. These were real people, and telling their stories is important, however, this book is for the most part a fictional account.

I think I have a natural bias against the prose and linguistic style used here – it just feels old fashioned and bloated and frankly irritates me and maybe that’s my problem. The book is narrated from the point of view of Matthew’s (imagined) sister who, until the final embers of the book, is basically a damp squib. I get that emancipation just wasn’t a thing, but while she purports to react horrifically to the witch hunts, she doesn’t actually seem to do anything, or at least anything effective.

I know, it’s probably the context but I found this read in many places rather tedious and flabby, it could have done with a good edit. There are Americanisms littered throughout which is, more than a bit annoying. There were some characters I enjoyed and would have liked to have seen more of, such as Bridget and Matthew’s mother, hence it gets 2 stars but I struggled to finish this if I’m honest.

Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri

Dates Read: 20/01/2021-28/01/2021

My Rating: 2 of 5 stars

It has to be said at the outset that this is a weighty tome. Not the longest I’ve ever read but at times you certainly feel it could have benefitted from some trimming. The premise is interesting – bringing together 2 characters suffering from severe PTSD, one as a result of sustained abuse and the other stemming from a single catastrophic event, to investigate a murder/kidnapping which will resonate with them both. They each struggle to engage with others but both recognise the damage in the other and manage somehow to work together to manage their symptoms and solve the case.

Ah, the case. Well, there’s my problem. The actual crimes are believable but the motives and complexities just simply aren’t. I got the feeling that the author was trying to be too clever, but conspiracy theories just aren’t my thing and the supposed scale of wrongdoing and the agencies implicated just made it contrived which was a massive turn off for me! It would have worked better with a more personal, less institutional enemy but then I guess that wouldn’t have left the opportunity for a series available, so what do I know?

Some of the passages are pretty graphic which weirdly, I emjoyed. I like the method of slowly revealing the rolling impacts of a momentary, catastrophic event. For two thirds of the novel it’s an entertaining read but ending it at that two thirds point would proably have worked better.

I find that it’s always better reading in the source language but since my Italian only extends to ordering pizza and wine, I read this in translation as a necessity. I know it’s a difficult task, but at times the translation feels clunky which probably spoiled my enjoyment somewhat. Maybe read it in Italian, if you can?

As reads go, for me it was ok, but I won’t be delving any further into the series.