Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole

Juan Pablo Villalobos

(Translated by Rosalind Harvey)

Down the Rabbit Hole is narrated by Tochtli, son of a Mexican drug lord. Tochtli lives in a palace, has a collection of hats, and is either a genius or just very odd. And right now, more than anything else, Tochtli wants a Liberian pygmy hippopotamus. (Watch this video and you'll want one too) Tochtli may not get to go to school, or have any friends his own age, or remember his mother, but what money can buy he gets.

This is the story of Tochtli's quest to obtain a pygmy hippo. Somehow Down the Rabbit Hole is enchanting, bleak, funny and depressing all at once. Tochtli is a fantastic protagonist, better I would argue, than Jack in Room (Emma Donoghue) or Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon). The voice is consistent and believable and the plot doesn't suffer from the child narrator. The short length of Down the Rabbit Hole doesn't detract from the quality of writing and, if anything, adds to the pace of the novel. I've also been reliably informed that the translation is excellent.
I loved this book. Really, really loved it. It's the kind of book which you won't forget quickly and will want to recommend to all your friends. I'm not the only person who thought that either. Down the Rabbit Hole has been nominated for the Guardian First Book Award 2011 and the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. It's also a really lovely book in terms of design, and well worth the £10 RRP.

Buy it here from www.waterstones.com or from your local bookshop.

Down the Rabbit Hole is published by And Other Stories, a grass-roots independent publishers. Do check out their website and their other publications.

Care of Wooden Floors

Care of Wooden Floors

Will Wiles

Care of Wooden Floors is Will Wiles' debut novel. (Not that you can tell that it’s a debut.) It's slick, clever, and very very funny.  The main character remains nameless throughout the novel, which adds, rather than detracts to the charm of the book.

Our hapless protagonist is invited to house-sit for his university friend, Oskar. Oskar is a successful composer, an organised man, happy and in control of his life. His flat is pristine and perfectly put together with expensive leather sofas, well-behaved cats and, of course, the faultlessly polished, extortionately priced wooden floors. On the contrary, our narrator is disorganised, messy and rather aimless.

Our narrator arrives anticipating a brief break in which he can relax and devote himself to writing his magnum opus. And his holiday would’ve been the quiet and productive experience he’d expected if he’d been a different man entirely- perhaps a similar character to the man whose house he was supposed to be looking after. But our narrator was not his host, Oskar- and this is where the problems begin.

Oskar, although absent from the flat, makes his presence felt with a series of exacting instructions on how to properly look after his property. Notes are placed in the most unexpected places- so the finding of the commands becomes a bizarre treasure hunt. By far the most detailed of the notes is the instruction on how to care for wooden floors. Our narrator thinks he will have no need for this information, until he spills red wine onto the kitchen floorboards. This disaster is only the first of many.

It is the sort of book which makes you squirm as you read. You become so aware of the inevitable destruction of Oskar’s perfect home that you wish to scream at the narrator, telling him to stop before it’s too late. Alas, your voice is not heard.

And, actually, you don’t want the narrator to stop at all. You want to read about the nightmarish quality that house-sitting has attained, you’re desperate to find out how on earth the narrator is going to get out of the mess of his own creation, and you need to find out whether Oskar is human, or some form of omniscient being.

Give it a read. You know you want to. 

Buy it here from www.waterstones.com or from your local bookshop.

Many thanks to the fabulous HarperInsider for the reading copy. 

Before I Go To Sleep

Before I Go To Sleep

S J Watson

This was recommended to me by a colleague at Waterstone's. I borrowed her proof copy, then purchased a (signed, first edition) copy as soon as it was released. 'Before I Go To Sleep' has been one of the biggest novels of 2011, and is another debut novel from an extremely talented writer. S J Watson is a graduate from the Faber Academy Writing Course, and it obviously worked well for him! (If someone would like to pay for a place for me, I would be happy to accept their generosity)

'Before I Go To Sleep' tells the tale of Christine, an amnesiac, who wakes up every morning to discover she is 20 years older than she thinks she is. That she has forgotten everything of the previous 20 years of her life, and that she will almost certainly never regain these memories. Christine will be spending the rest of her life waking up to discover that she is not who she thinks she is. Luckily, her husband is loving and patient, prepared to help her and support her. Things could be worse. Then she discovers the diary in which she has been secretly documenting her life, and hiding it from her husband. Is her husband the loving man he seems to be, or is he a more sinister character?

'Before I Go To Sleep' is categorised as a crime/thriller novel, so crime fans will love it, but for those who are wary of the genre this is a brilliant book to start with. The novel is well structured, and the characters are convincing.

Read it, it's awesome.

Buy it here from www.waterstones.com or from your local bookshop.

The Night Circus

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

This is one of the best debut novels I have ever read. (Possibly, even, the best debut novel that I will ever read) Erin Morgenstern's first foray into fiction is a decadent, delicious tale of a circus. This is a circus which only ever appears at night, and arrives with no warning. It is a circus like no other.

Part love story, part magical adventure, this novel twists and turns bringing new surprises at every corner. It is richly written, combining a well composed plot with dramatic descriptions and convincing characters. It is a beguiling and evocative tale, which introduces you to a world that you will never want to leave. Although set in the late nineteenth century it is somehow a very modern tale, with even the antiquities embellished lovingly with magic. 

'The Night Circus' has been compared to Harry Potter, which I personally feel is rather unfair on 'The Night Circus'. (Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Potter) 'The Night Circus' is so much more than Harry Potter. Where magic in Harry Potter is commonplace, and, almost dreary, the magic in 'The Night Circus' is utterly stunning. Furthermore, in 'The Night Circus', anyone who can afford the admission fee is welcome to enter the parallel universe where you can enter a tent and see the whole world change. 

In case you can't tell, I loved this book. I haven't felt so involved and invested in a story for a very long time, and I would thoroughly recommend it to everybody. I have tried to avoid revealing the plot, simply because I think you should discover it through the book itself, rather than through my half-hearted attempts to demonstrate the brilliance of this novel.

This novel isn't released until the 15/09/2011 but I would suggest that you preorder it from here www.waterstones.com or your local bookstore.

Many thanks to Random House for the proof copy.

Just Listen

Just Listen
Sarah Dessen

'Just Listen' is my favourite of Sarah Dessen's books. Like her other books it is well written with convincing characters and an involving storyline. 'Just Listen' tells the tale of Annabel, the girl with a seemingly perfect life; she's beautiful, bright, with a bustling social life and a supportive family.

Except her best friend has spent the summer spreading rumours about her and turning her friends against her. Except her sister has just been diagnosed with a serious eating disorder. Except that her mother is pushing her into continuing her modelling career, when right now, all Annabel wants to do is hide.

'Just Listen' is a great book for teenage girls. It tackles adolescent issues in a tactful and respectful manner without being pious and preachy. Annabel is a wonderful character, and is easily relatable to. The message of the novel is encapsulated by the title and, in the end, Annabel is saved from having to hide by someone who is willing to listen.

Buy it for your daughters and read it for yourself from www.waterstones.com or your local bookshop.

(Plus the covers of Sarah Dessen's books are totally awesome.)

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins

'The Hunger Games' is a young adult novel set in a dystopian world. Katniss Everdeen is our heroine, and she's just been propelled into the deadliest reality TV show to ever exist. The narritive is fast-paced and tense, portraying the inhumanities of a totalitarian society in graphic detail.

Katniss lives in District 12 where the inhabitants work in the coal mines and spend their free time preoccupied with the sordid business of staying alive. Life is tough, and it is made even tougher by the annual event of the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a sport devised by the Capitol where two children are chosen at random from each of the 12 Districts which comprise Panem. Only one tribute from the chosen 24 will leave the Hunger Games alive. The 23 who don't escape will have their deaths, and the last of their lives, televised for the amusement of the Capitol. Katniss is one of the chosen 24....

'The Hunger Games' is an absorbing thriller which is great for getting teens reading. (It's great for adults too!) The characters are well drawn, the writing is solid and the plot is brilliant. You will be left wanting more.

Buy it here from www.waterstones.com or from your local bookshop.

PS. It's the first of a trilogy!
PPS. The sequels have already been published and are 'Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay'. It's probably worth buying them all at once, rather than suffer from the suspense of waiting for the next installment.

The Crimson Petal and the White

The Crimson Petal and the White
Michel Faber

This hefty tome tells the tale of Sugar, a Victorian prostitute. Although the novels principal protagonist is Sugar the narration touches upon the lives of the characters who appear on the peripheries of Sugar's life. The narration is intrusive, with our omniscient, yet absent, narrator frequently referring to us as "Dear Reader". 'The Crimson Petal and the White' has been called the novel that Dickens would have written if he could... high praise indeed.

Sugar is labelled as the prostitute who would do *anything* her clients may request. Yet she is not an uneducated woman, and is only a fallen woman due to her mother pushing her over the precipice into prostitution at the tender age of thirteen. Sugar dreams of improving her status in the world, and is the authoress of a vicious novel consisting of several gory man-slaughters (man being the key word). She believes the only way she will escape the whorehouse is by her own intelligence, until she meets William Rackham....

This is a wonderfully involving book, and includes a fantastic portrayal of the various versions of the Victorian female- pious and hysterical (Agnes Rackham), worthy yet blasphemous (Emmeline Fox), and of course, the whore (Sugar). The page count and the sheer weight of the book is intimidating, but don't be afraid to give it a go, for I'm almost sure you'll enjoy it.

Buy it here from www.waterstones.com or from your local bookshop.

(Thanks to Mel for recommending and purchasing a copy for me, I owe you one.)