Novel set in London (and a bit about book sales)

It is a sobering thought that a lot of authors actually sell only a limited number of books, and as I read The Marrying of Chani Kaufman - long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2013 - I reflected on the situation. At TripFiction we come across a phenomenal number of books that have massive merit in their own right, are beautifully written, tick so many boxes, yet just never make it to prime position in a bookshop. Talent and a bit of luck just don't seem to be enough these days.

India Knight in an article entitled Ambushed in the Old Sentimentality Shop in the Sunday Times of 11.11.12 was in part discussing the Booker Prize of October 2012. It emerged, she says, that sales figures for the shortlisted books, before the announcement of their inclusion on the list, were pitiful: Alison Moore's The Lighthouse, for example, had sold 283 copies, Jeet Thayil's Narcopolis 100 and Tan Twan Eng's The Garden of Evening Mists had had 174 buyers. Naturally sales went up after the shortlist was announced. 

Her sentiments were further echoed by Ian Rankin on Twitter 14.7.13, where he opined that a debut novelist, garnering good quotes from famed authors for the cover, plus good reviews, can still expect to sell only a few hundred copies. He was specifically referring to Robert Galbraith (who we now know to be J K Rowling). The Sunday Telegraph on 10.7.13 said that until the real author was revealed, that Galbraith had only sold 449 copies, according to Neilson Bookscan. 


What are we to make of this? Sales, whether in a bookshop or via the internet are how an author makes his/her living (just see author, Dan Smith's, recent piece entitled A Victimless Crime) so buy books. Another thing we can all do, as readers, is to write reviews, because reviews help garner new readers and new sales. There are plenty of places you can write your reviews - Goodreads, Amazon and of course here at TripFiction. And often processing thoughts and channelling them into a review is quite an interesting and rewarding exercise. Give it a go, you, too, can help authors get their works out there!

The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris set in Golders Green/Hendon, London

A tender, and at times frank peak behind the Scheitel (wig) culture of the Ultra-Orthodox community in the Golders Green/Hendon area of London.

It is a brave thing that a non-Haredi chooses to write about a culture that keeps its doors firmly closed to the outside world of modern Western culture. But I think the author has really achieved a good balance of insight, empathy and reality (as far as one can tell, of course), and for this she was rewarded by being included on the Man Booker Longlist of 2013. 

Chani, in her late teens, is waiting to be approached by the shadchan (the matchmaker) with a proposition from a potential husband, just to meet and spend a little time together. Her suitor is Baruch who espied her at a wild wedding celebration.

The story line is interwoven with the stories of others, all of whom have a connection to the couple, and through their eyes we glimpse a little of what life can be like in the Orthodox community. Like any of us, the individuals are trying to find their way through life, deflecting the bad, and embracing the good. There are a huge amount of strictures to observe in everyday life for those who aspire to be frum (religious/observant) - from food preparation, to interaction between the sexes, attire, you name it. There seems to be an overriding sense of monochrome 'colouring' their lives, a touch lacklustre, and a depressing lack of information when it comes to sex (so it was interesting to see such a brightly coloured cover on this book). But who are any of us to judge a choice of lifestyle, one which clearly becomes deeply ingrained in each new baby that arrives, and is clearly based on a very strong sense of community.


If you are not familiar with the ways of the Ultra Orthodox community, it will certainly be a revelation. It is beautifully written, well observed and for the most part sensitively written. 

And if you enjoyed this move, then we suggest Reva Mann's book The Rabbi's Daughter which will offer further insight.

Tina for the Tripfiction Team


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LONDON: louche living in the Swinging 60s

Three Brothers by Peter Ackroyd, set in London

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NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE/LONDON Family trauma

The Other Family by Joanna Trollope set in London and Newcastle upon Tyne

Richie is the link between two families who live 300 miles apart, in London and in Newcastle upon Tyne. Two families; one wife, one partner and four children. Intriguing.

But then Richie, a successful musician, suddenly dies and leaves the two families with different problems to sort out. The two families have never met but know of each other. Richie never divorced his first wife, Margaret who lives in Tynemouth with a son, Scott who is in his late 30s. In London, I’m not sure where, Chrissie tries to pick up the pieces of her devastating loss with her three daughters, Tamsin, Dilly and Amy. The reading of Richie’s will brings the family together over a sentimental legacy. Changes have to be made but there is an issue with acceptance of the situation they find themselves in.

But how does it bring them together?

Joanna Trollope successfully portrays the emotions and dynamics of family life and relationships.

The novel is set in two different cities. I know Newcastle upon Tyne well and the buildings mentioned, The Sage and The Baltic to name a few. I can picture these iconic buildings and the view that is described of the Tyne Bridge from Scott’s city centre flat. But I am wondering if there is a strong enough emphasis upon the place that other readers would want to visit if they had not before. But Newcastle upon Tyne does have a hold for one of the family members not only because of its difference to London but also because of the music opportunities she can take. And of course Newcastle upon Tyne has long associations with many iconic musicians: Sting, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Lindisfarne, The Lighthouse Family, and Cheryl Cole....(to mention but a few).

This is an interesting read and once again Joanna Trollope has written a winner with her successful style. Some of the sentences take up half a page. It took me a while to get used to this; but it reads like someone having the conversation in their head. However, for me the cities could have been anywhere and I don’t know if I would have wanted to visit them. But after all this book is about people, relationships, their struggles and coming to terms with a new future.

Thanks to Ann Reddy for reviewing this for TripFiction If you would like to really get under the skin of the North East of England, then we have many novels that will do that for you. Just click here And London as you can imagine is really well represented on the website!

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Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide

A collection of novels to evoke the feel of the River Thames:

The Thames stretches from the beautiful Cotswolds to the heart of London and beyond, and as we have been researching the novels for TripFiction we have come across several books that hugely evoke the bustle and busyness, and the variety of life along the river; in our featured novels the river almost become a character in its own right. It has been such an important feature of life in the South of the England, since time immemorial, so much history, and so very essential to everyday life. Indeed it is the longest river in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. So it deserves a blogpost in its own right.

Tideline by Penny Hancock first sowed the seed for this idea, a gripping tale of life along the banks of central London, where the Thames itself grew to be a character in the novel.

Marie Claire puts it succinctly: "A clever, creepy thriller about misplaced affection and abduction, with a riverside location as an eerie backdrop"








Our next choice is Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd.

One May evening in London, as a result of a chance encounter and a split-second decision, the young climatologist Adam Kindred loses everything - home, job, reputation, passport, credit cards, money - never to get them back. With the police and a hit man in merciless pursuit, Adam has no choice but to go underground, joining the ranks of the disappeared, struggling to understand how his life has unravelled so spectacularly.

The Daily Mirror captures the feel of this novel: 'A storm of a story ... London has never looked so threatening' 

Downriver by Iain Sinclair is constructed as twelve interlocking narratives, in which Iain Sinclair traces the ruins of Margaret Thatcher's reign through the lens of a fictional film crew that has been hired to make a documentary about what's left of London's river life. The Thames may still flow through the heart of the capital, but life along its shores has changed dramatically. It is a savage, satirical quest to understand how people's lives, a government's policies and a legendary waterland conspire together in a boggling display of self-destruction.







Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald is the winner of the 1979 Booker Prize. 

Offshore possesses perfect, very odd, pitch. In just over 130 pages of the wittiest and most melancholy prose, Penelope Fitzgerald illuminates the lives of "creatures neither of firm land nor water"--a group of barge-dwellers in London's Battersea Reach, circa 1961. 

'Fitzgerald is adept at evoking the atmosphere of late 1960's London with rich period detail' Elizabeth Day, Observer

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dickens' most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Haversham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted room-mate Herbert Pocket and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own ‘great expectations’ in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him towards maturity and his most important discovery of all - the truth about himself.

And it's over to Deptford with Penny Hancock's latest thriller The Darkening Hour 

A middle class woman at her wits' end. A struggling migrant worker with few options for survival. When tensions boil over, who will be the first to snap? Will it be Theodora, finally breaking under the pressure? Or Mona, desperate to find a way out? Two women. Two stories. Who do you believe?

And we will sign off with a couple of lines attribute to Shakespeare: "The River Thames, that by our door doth pass, His first beginning is but small and shallow: yet keeping on his course, grows to a sea."

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1923: Maps from "Father Thames" by Walter Higgins via http://thames.me.uk

We have brought together only a few books that conjure up life along the Thames. Please add your suggestions in the Comments Box below!

Covers, lovers, and luxury labels

"There are no good girls gone wrong - just bad girls found out" (Mae West). This novel is a homage to the Wicked Women in this world... think Madonna, Joan Rivers, Lady Gaga, Alexis Colby and the polyglot character in this novel, Loretta Fiorentino.

This post can now be found on the new TripFiction website here

"The Art of Leaving" A portrait of LONDON and so much more

We are really pleased to welcome Sandra Tena to the Tripfiction Team, born in Durango, Mexico, but currently citizen of the world, doing a master in Creative Writing in at the University of Newcastle, UK.  She was finalist in Voces sin Fronteras II in Canada and in Cada loco con su tema in Mexico, and thus published in the corresponding anthologies of both contests.  Her first novel, La Sombra Detrás, can be found in Amazon Kindle. She also has a collection of short stories waiting for publication. As of now in Newcastle, besides having the time of her life, she is working on her first novel in English, Iar, which is to be the first of a five-part fantasy saga for young adults titled Pentacle, and putting together her first collection of short stories in English.  When she is not writing she is reading everything humanly possible given the shortness of each day, hanging out with amazing friends from all over the world, watching T.V. shows and movies that make her laugh and think, and missing her cats and the people she adores from across the ocean. 

There are three things that must be said about Anna Stothard’s latest brilliant creation, The Art of Leaving: first, as I picked the book out of the love I feel for London I think it’s fair that I begin with my insight of Anna’s masterful portrayal of the wondrous city in her novel.  The rushing adrenaline of the city’s hurried way of life, the greatness of the historical streets, buildings and landmarks, the anonymity of the population, the tiny or sometimes not so tiny portals that go unnoticed every now and then, the intimacy of the walks under the rain or through the parks or inside the uncountable buildings…  it’s all there, sitting in black ink and white paper, looking up at you as if the city was reading you instead of you reading about the city, trying to capture your reactions to the descriptions of places from known to unknown, from idyllic to stale, from open to hidden, and so forth.  But there is also an aspect of London that jumps at you from the beginning: the feeling that you can belong in London, that no matter your background or personal history, London wipes that slate clean for you, or at least helps you find your rightful place in the world.  London, in the end, is London, a place where life goes on and the world keeps turning no matter what goes on in your life and you don’t have to rush to keep up, but instead it allows you to take a step back and reassess.  Eva walks a large part of the city in the book, and at each step she takes we’re right there with her, seeing what she sees, knowing the city through her eyes.  And very much also through Regina’s, as the eagle flies above and beyond, and sets foot (or claws) here and there and expects us to look at her in wonder much like the population of London does in the book.

Second, the depth and meticulousness in which Anna has developed her characters is impressive.  Eva, Luke, Grace and even Regina perform a dance in which they slowly reveal their hidden traits, real motives and darkest secrets, making The Art of Leaving a really hard book to put down.  The way Anna slowly untangles her characters is delightful, down to the point of awakening in yours truly a desire to reach out to them, to know what will become of them, to be with them till the end.  The thorough detail of the writing depicts the surrounding and the way it resonates within Eva in a most poetic manner: from the busy London Streets to the cramped Echo Books to what each character wears or how their hair, eyes or hands look; it made me feel for Eva, try to understand her and wonder about her at the same time, want to unravel her as I read.

And third, the way Anna delivers Eva’s wild imagination to us is magical, how Eva wanders in and out of her daydreams and hangs on to the memory of her grandmother at the same time is simply beautiful.  We are taken to a world in which the impossible becomes a part of Eva; where she can feel herself, safe and true; and where fluffy bunny rabbits and flowers speak of her wishes louder than she does in real life.  The constant mention of books, movies and stories allows this second world to exist in an almost tangible manner in Eva’s life and her relationship with Luke and Grace. The moment when her two worlds collide and she is forced to make a decision we are taken behind her mirror, and we see the truth that was hidden from us all along, and we understand that from there it could easily go both ways… and we are grateful for her imagination and her pursue and her truth… and we call out to her, urging her to never stop.

Anna Stothard is also the author of The Pink Hotel set in Los Angeles.

Thank you for visiting today, from Sandra and the TripFiction Team. To find our more about The Art of Leaving, click on the cover; and to find more books set in and evocative of London click here

Novels set in Bookstores

During our researches for the TripFiction site, we have come across innumerable books that are set in bookshops around the globe. A quirky compilation, one that hones in on cultural differences, with books and bookstores as the central theme. We have really enjoyed creating this small list -. and please add your favourite "novels set in bookstores" below!

Our collated novels set in bookstores can now be found on our Pinterest board here

Help! Why is a Chanel 2.55 Handbag called a 2.55 handbag?

I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk

(or, Angela's guide to London)

Image courtesy of Wikipedia




Hear ye, hear ye (the cry of the olde worlde British town cryer)....Get a glimpse of Britishness here! Author Lindsey Kelk flies her readers to London, immersing them into life in the metropolis, offering an experience that can only be enjoyed by being there. 
Descending into Heathrow, Angela, our guide and central character describes the approach, through champagne bleary eyes and this is what she sees:.... "And then it appeared. The opening titles of Eastenders* rolled out underneath me, the ribbon of river curling up and stretching out across the landscape, punctuated by large patches of green. My stomach slipped when I spotted the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye..."


The reader has landed in this, a bang on British book! Whether you long for M & S** knickers, a troll round Waitrose***, a browse in Topshop**** or the unique taste of a Penguin Bar ***** you can't get more British than this delicious story and how to plan a wedding 'Brit style'.

Based in south-west London with her parents, Angela is cajoled into organising her wedding to musician Alex, in her parents' garden, which smells  enticingly of newly mown grass (a very english smell indeed!). Will it actually go ahead? Will the caterers turn up?  Will Mark the ex appear? This book is a tour around London, a visit to some of the capital's wonderful shopping destinations and has a treasure of "names" - Marchesa for the bridesmaids; Jenny's Proenza Schouler bag for "stuff" and of course mention of the Chanel 2.55 bag (do leave a comment if you know why it is called this! Angela does but she's not telling!). And more....Magic FM and drizzle. Primrose Hill and London Zoo. Mahiki and Harvey Nicks.The Gherkin (Angela likes it!). And finally, the decision where to have the quintessential English afternoon tea? Should it be the Ritz or the Wolseley? Angela and her team are quite clear on this one but you will have to read the book to find out! This book really is a case of "seeing a place through an author's eyes" Enjoy! And click on the cover to find out more.

A Glossary of * Terms for non-Brits

* Easternders is a soap that has been on the BBC since time began - or long before salami became popular in the UK (see our last blogpost)
** M & S brings comfort shopping to most British folk (even if they don't all admit it!) - and as a true Brit you must buy your knickers and lunchtime sandwiches here (not necessarily at the same time)
*** Waitrose is an up-market supermarket and the food arm of John Lewis - the comfy-slipper department store where Middle England shops, and where "nothing is knowingly undersold" - the perfect reassurance for the perfect shopping experience
**** TopShop for that vital garment with good design and value price tag - every English woman will have one item somewhere in her wardrobe that originates from TopShop à la Kate Middleton or Kate Moss
***** Ah, Penguin Bars, a mix of crisp biscuit and chocolate covering, bars that cannot be bought individually but come in packs of 6. The typical Brit gets hooked on them, along with Mother's Milk, that is to say they make a frequent appearance on school menus (wonder what Jamie thinks of them?)

Photo courtesy of Google

So, to help out travellers to London, what might you suggest as a small, but truly English Experience for someone who wants just a touch of non-maninstream british culture? Where would you suggest afternoon tea? Which type of sandwich would you rate at M & S? Would you recommend a Penguin bar? Bourne and Hollingsworth...Beyond Retro....Liberty...

Percy Passage, Schmidt's and London's Fitzrovia

Postcard from the 1960s - where are they all now?

This blogpost is now on our new website, click here

 

Insider tips for LONDON via fiction - some real gems!

A couple of books set just out of the centre of London. Truly evocative, truly brilliant - read the books set in our selected areas, and the environs literally jump off the pages; three different genres that reflect the huge diversity of this grand, Olympic city, a little something for everyone.

First off is maritime GREENWICH, captured in this great book by Penny Hancock. Life set on the Thames just lifts off the pages, and a gripping psycho thriller to boot. Find out the meaning of Tamasa, the original name given to the Thames; take the bus to Blackheath which derives its name from the burials there of the victims of the Black Death; experience views onto the Wapping Tobacco Warehouse, once the biggest public building in the world...
"The visual descriptions of the river and the house are incredibly compelling"

http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/1901



To HATTON GARDEN, the heart of London's jewellery trade, with author Rachel Lichtenstein, and explore the byways and highways of this little known quarter of London. Discover the rich layers of history in this well researched exploration of London.

http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2190




Monica Ali has written a super book about the BRICK LANE area of London; we thought we would feature a book that is perhap a little less well known.
After ten years living abroad, Tarquin Hall wanted to return to his native London. Lured by his nostalgia for a leafy suburban childhood spent in south-west London, he returned with his Indian-born, American fiance in tow. But, priced out of the housing market, they found themselves living not in a townhouse, oozing Victorian charm, but in a squalid attic above a Bangladeshi sweatshop on London's Brick Lane. A grimy skylight provided their only window on the new world.
http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2135

Do come and leave reviews on our site www.TripFiction.com. Tell others whether a book you have read is soooo evocative of location that you are almost there with the characters - it's a great way to experience somewhere new or to revisit a destination that you have loved!

"See a location through an author's eyes"

The Origins of Ice Cream in a novel set in 1670s LONDON

a sorbet of medlars.....white strawberry ice cream and a dusting of white pepper....pomegranate sorbet.....a ratafia of green walnuts....parmesan ice cream.....(from the Book of Ices)

"The Empress of Ice Cream"  by Anthony Capella

In this novel Anthony Capella takes his readers to the London of Charles II, with a bit of Florence and Versailles added into the mix. London is a city that is still recovering from the Great Fire of 1666. Thorough research permeates this delightful and informative book, from the little details (how the game of Paille Maille became woven into the fabric of London and evolved into Pall Mall) to the intrigues between the Courts of France and England. It is also the time when ice cream is just coming into vogue and he recreates  wonderful concoctions of 'cream ice',  and charts the experiments with combinations of flavours - from the 4 early flavours of cardamom, orange, mastic and rosewater to wonderful frozen dolci.

Take ice cream blended with pineapple, the ultimate in luxury fruit..."I knew, of course, that even in France a single pineapple cost almost as much as a new coach. Here in England, they would doubtless be even more expensive. But they were the epitome of aristocratic luxury. Louis's courtiers built heated pineries at their country estates where the fruit - which was imported from the colonies on the tree, roots and all - could be replanted under glass and ripened. Lesser people hired ripe pineapples by the day at enormous expense, just to adorn their tables and perfume their dining rooms, while only the very wealthy could afford to actually eat one..." (extract from The Empress of Ice Cream)



http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/852