Fragment Friday

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

On Christmas Eve the sky was overcast and threatened rain. It had turned mild, too, in the night, and the mud in the yard was churned where the cows had trodden. The walls of Mary's bedroom felt damp to her hand, and there was a great yellow patch in one corner caused by the shrinking plaster. 

Mary leant out of the window, and the soft wet wind blew upon her face. In an hour's time Jem Merlyn would be waiting for her on the moor, to take her to Launceston fair. Whether she met him or not depended upon herself, and she could not make up her mind. She had grown older in four days, and the face that looked back at her from the spotted, cracked mirror was drawn and tired. 

There were dark rings beneath her eyes, and little hollows in her cheeks. Sleep came late to her at night, and she had no appetite for food. For the first time in her life she saw a resemblance between herself and her Aunt Patience. They had the same pucker of the forehead, and the same mouth. If she pursed up her lips and worked them, biting the edges, it might be Aunt Patience who stood there, with the lank brown hair framing her face. The trick was an easy one to catch, as was the nervous twisting of the hands, and Mary turned away from the tell-tale mirror and began to pace up and down her cramped room. During the past days she had kept as much as possible to the privacy of her own room, excusing herself on the score of a chill. Mary could not trust her Aunt at present - not for any length of time. Her eyes would have betrayed her. They would look at one another with the same dumb horror, the same anguish; and Aunt Patience would have understood. They shared a secret now, a secret that must never be spoken between them.

Fragment Friday

Star Trek The Next Generation.  
Q-Squared by Peter David.

"Don't want to go!" howled Lieutenant Commander William Riker. 

He was clutching a piece of furniture, looking like a trapped animal. His hair was still wild and disheveled. Worf was certainly no barber, and did not have the time, patience or finesse to do much with Riker's appearance beyond making damned sure that Riker bathed, since his stench was considerable even for a human. Worf stood nearby, his muscled arms folded across his armored chest, barely able to conceal his impatience. 

"You must go," he rumbled. "You are a Starfleet officer. A Starfleet vessel has arrived, and you are scheduled to depart with it."

"I don't want to!"

"You must. It is your duty. Furthermore, your wife..." He paused, trying to recall her name, and then it came to him. "...Deanna... and your son, are aboard ship."

That caught Riker's attention. Somehow the mere mention of her name seemed to penetrate the confused and angry haze that hung over him. "Deanna," he whispered. 

"Yes, that is correct. Deanna. She is waiting for you. Do you wish to keep her waiting?"

Riker shook his head in a quick, short fashion, as if afraid that too much shaking might cause it to tumble off his shoulders. Then he stared at Worf with a sort of animal cunning that looked so crafty that Worf felt his opinion of Riker going up a few notches. "Are you are coming, too?"

"As a matter of fact," said Worf slowly. "I am."

Riker considered that a moment. "Good," he said at last.

My Secret Diary - Dates, Dancing, Dreams and Dilemas by Jacqueline Wilson

In 1960, you'd wear stiff petticoats and dancing shoes. Now, you'd wear jeans and trainers. 

In 1960, you'd spend hours listening to records in your local store. Now you'd hours listening to music online. 

In 1960, you'd learn all the steps to the latest dances. Now, you just make up your own moves. 

But girls always have and always will have crushes on boys, argue with their parents, get embarrassed at school, want to stay out with their friends, and spend hours fixing their hair. 

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My guilty pleasure is Jacqueline Wilson.  I love settling down to one of her stories when I'm feeling a bit down or unwell. This week I have been battling some kind of chest infection and so it was the perfect time to grab 'My Secret Diary' off the shelves. I'd already read and thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of the series which covers Jacqueline Wilson's life from birth through to eleven. This book moves on from where the previous book ended and explores her teenage years. 

It was a great book. I loved learning about Wilson's life in the 1960s. It was honestly like a different world back then. Life seems slower and most definitely safer. However I'm sure that is partly to do with the author picking the elements in her book carefully, especially as it is aimed at children. I found it fun to read even as an adult and I really enjoyed the whole thing. 

I found the highlight of the book to be the fact that Jacqueline Wilson used her own childhood diary entries throughout. It gave the book a really authentic voice and you could hear her childhood thoughts and views clearly. I think this is something which is often lost when people discuss their childhood years in autobiographies. Through no fault of their own, the adult in them cannot fail to analyze the time and situation they are discussing, using knowledge that only comes with age. By including her old diaries Wilson successfully brought in the clear, innocent and unaffected ideals of her childhood. I found this very refreshing and loved the way it formed the narrative of the book. 

Even though it is aimed at children don't let it put you off. I really liked it and found the writing imaginative and inventive, while the story was very interesting. It can be read in an afternoon or as I mentioned above, when you are in need of a bit of a pick me up. I'm looking forward to the next installment which will lead Wilson into her adult life and I'm sure it will prove to be just as intriguing as 'My Secret Diary'. 

I rate this book  5 out of 5 stars. 
It was a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Wilson painted a clear and vibrant picture of teenage life during the 1960s. The Diary entries from her childhood gave the book added depth and really engaged me as a reader. A great book for both adults and children alike.  

Home and Away - The Frank Morgan Story by Elizabeth Coleman

The Home and Away TV show is one of the most successful 'soaps' ever to hit the screens and, as a prequel to the television saga, this book tells the story of of of the series' main characters, Frank Morgan. Tearaway Frank is taken in by foster parents Tom and Pippa Fletcher after having become a bank robber at the age of eight!

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I read this book for a bit of fun. It is based on a television soap I watched as child. Although the character is a little before my time as his character was older when I first watched it. I saw it in a charity shop and decided to reminisce about the show in general. It follows the story of Frank Morgan on the eve of his wedding, we get to see Frank as he considers his life and the events that have lead him to this moment. 

I won't lie it wasn't exactly a thrilling read. It was exactly what I expected in that it was a television tie-in with the main draw being the inclusion of the characters from the show. I enjoyed it for what it was, a simple story which provided more background to a character which I knew little about. If you are after a deep, intensive and long literary read then this book is not for you. However if you just want a quick book to read in one sitting, which has an interesting plot then this is a good book for doing that. 

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.
It was okay and exactly what I expected. I read it in one sitting and it was a bit of light relief after reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which are two very emotionally charged books. It's great for anyone who remembers watching Home and Away in the 80s and 90s.  

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath's only novel, was  originally published under a pseudonym in 1963.

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under-maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational-as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic

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The Bell Jar novel is about a thirty year old young lady who has spent her life over achieving. Esther has done everything right in her life, she has succeeded through school, gained scholarships and funding for her university education, won competitions that allow her to meet with people who are able to make or break her career. Yet she is unhappy. Suddenly her life is about to enter the unknown. Finishing her final years of University education means she is about enter into the world of work and 'adulthood' which is alien to her. This realization leads Esther on a downward spiral into a deep depression. 

Plath wrote a very moving account of a young woman's struggle with depression. It is full of raw emotion and really gets to the heart of her character. Knowing that Plath herself suffered from depression leads me to wonder how much of this book is fiction and how much is actually drawn from her own experiences. It is a dark and sometimes cold book, which lays bare the harsh emotions and fears that Esther goes through on a daily basis. 

I found the book very emotionally charged but enjoyable at the same time. It is not an easy read, the author takes you to the darkest corners of Esther's mind. At times I found it hard to read on while also having a compulsion to continue until the end. You become desperate to find out the final outcome, will Esther recover or is she destined to remain stalled in her life for the rest of her days? 

I rate this book 3 out of 5 star
It is a good book especially if you enjoy stories that tug at your heart strings. This book left me guessing until the very end and I loved Esther even during her darkest moments I found her quite funny as well as strangely strong and independent despite her depression. 


 

Fragment Friday

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Mr Willard drove me up to the Adirondacks. 

It was the day after Christmas and a grey sky bellied over us, fat with snow. I felt overstuffed and dull and disappointed, the way I always do the day after Christmas, as if whatever it was the pine boughs and the candles and the silver and the gilt-ribboned presents and the birch-log fires and the Christmas turkey and the carols at the piano promised never came to pass. 

At Christmas I almost wished I was a Catholic. 

First Mr Willard drove and then I drove. I don't know what we talked about, but as the countryside, already deep under old falls of snow, turned us a bleaker shoulder, and as the fir trees crowded down from the grey hills to the road edge, so darkly green they looked black, I grew gloomier and gloomier. 

I was tempted to tell Mr Willard to go ahead alone, I would hitch-hike home. 

But one glance at Mr Willard's face - the silver hair in its boyish crewcut, the clear eyes, the pink cheeks, all frosted like a sweet wedding cake with the innocent, trusting expression - and I knew I couldn't do it. I'd have to see the visit through to the end. 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. 

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This book is heartbreaking. It follows the life of teenage cancer sufferer Hazel as she struggles through her day to day life. Hazel is terminal and everyday she faces challenges that prevent her from living a normal teenage life. Worrying that she is depressed her mother insists she attends a Cancer Kid Support Group. It it at one of these meetings that she first meets Augustus Waters who is himself a cancer survivor and attending to support his friend Isaac. From that moment on this book takes you on a roller coaster of emotion.

I was instantly taken by hazel and her inner strength. I liked that the author wrote of a girl who was experiencing cancer in a realistic way. By that I mean she wasn't always upbeat, she was often bitter and saddened by her fate but also accepting in her own way. I also enjoyed that Hazels personality sharply contrasted that of Augustus. He was generally cheerful and optimistic even when hazel was at her lowest emotionally. In truth it was impossible not to like both characters. 

The books was beautifully written and successfully portrayed the pain and heartache surrounding Cancer. The story highlights the fact that the illness does not simply affect the person suffering the disease but everyone involved in their lives. I was left an emotional wreck by the end of this book and it is not for the faint hearted. I laughed and most definitely cried my way through it. I recommend that when reading it you should have a box of tissues close at hand.  

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars

A heart-wrenching and emotionally draining book but well worth reading. By the end you will be deeply effected by its story.