Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

The Way To The Sea by Victoria Connelly

Jun22

Beautiful

The Way To The Sea by Victoria Connelly is a simply beautiful contemporary novel that warmed my heart and soothed my soul.

At the heart of the novel are three broken people – trauma and loss over the years has devastated lives. Each are imprisoned within themselves. Each needs awakening to learn to live again.

Loss devastates. “It seemed barbaric to him that he should even think of life after Jamie. What right did he have to be happy again when his son lay in his grave?” This loss occurred before the book opened. A life is trapped in time – moving backwards is impossible, moving forwards is incomprehensible, and so life is suspended.

The other two souls are victims of domestic abuse (before the novel opened). Trauma has isolated the pair. “I started to believe his lies I wasn’t a good person, that I didn’t deserve friends.” If someone lies to us often enough, we begin to believe them and our self confidence ebbs away. We judge ourselves to be unworthy. It takes courage to break the cycle.

We also witness the cruelty that is dementia. Just occasionally we glimpse the person they used to be.

We all wear masks that hide our true selves. Only when we feel comfortable with someone will we open up. “You should never judge anybody by appearance. You never know the secret battles they were fighting or the things they’d endured.”

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The Other Couple by Diane Jeffrey

Jun22

Entertaining & Gripping

The Other Couple by Diane Jeffrey is a simply marvellous contemporary psychological suspense that had me mesmerized from the start.

Diane Jeffrey is masterful at her craft as she draws the reader in, leading us with our emotional responses to her characters. We cling on to the narrative for dear life.

The story is told in the first and third person from two alternating points of view. As such, we become intimately acquainted with the characters.

We witness the total desolation that comes with loss. “I have nothing left to lose. I’ve already lost everything.” Desperation takes over as a character relentlessly searches for answers, employing tactics that she never realized lay within.

The weather mirrors the action as Diane Jeffrey employs the literary device of pathetic fallacy. As the storm clouds gather, they mirror a character’s inner turmoil.

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The Couple Across The Street by Anita Waller

Jun20

What Lurks Behind

The Couple Across The Street by Anita Waller is a totally gripping contemporary psychological thriller that I just could not put down.

Behind the curtains of suburbia one can find secrets and lies. Sometimes people spend a lifetime hiding a guilty secret, but even after death, secrets have a way of rising to the surface, leaving a trial of destruction. Suburbia is not always as cosy as one imagines.

Anita Waller has created a marvellous plotline that grabbed my attention from the start – a near tragedy in the past opens the book as I wondered – how does this fit in?

We see how loss draws a family closer. But even as there is grief, for some, freedom is just beginning.

The leading characters are mainly women. We see how alone they may be powerless but together they are stronger. Strength of character is needed to negotiate the highways of life.

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Trouble For The Boat Girl by Lizzie Lane

Jun15

Social Injustice

Trouble For The Boat Girl by Lizzie Lane is a marvellous novel looking at the social history of women and the poor. It is set in 1925.

The twenties were a turbulent time. World War I was over but England was hardly a land fit for heroes. The tale follows the boat people whose existence was threatened by the railways. The unions were just emerging and were not popular with the bosses. Work was precarious and poverty was rife. We witness how hard it is to change the attitudes from within. It is laws that are needed in order to make a difference.

We follow two characters from the upper classes who try to bring order and change for the impoverished people. We wonder, do they both really have philanthropy at heart? Or is it just a way to rebel against their family?

Children of the boat people receive very little in the way of education as they are never in one place for that long. We see a female character who wishes to change that. Teaching was seen as a female vocation and there was a choice to be made – teach? Or marry? You could not do both.

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