Category: Reviews

#WWWWednesday – 26th June 2024

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

In This Ravishing WorldIn This Ravishing World by Nina Schuyler (eARC, Regal House)

In This Ravishing World is a sweeping, impassioned short story collection, ringing out with joy, despair, and hope for the natural world. Nine connected stories unfold, bringing together an unforgettable cast of dreamers, escapists, activists, and artists, creating a kaleidoscopic view of the climate crisis.

An older woman who has spent her entire life fighting for the planet sinks into despair. A young boy is determined to bring the natural world to his bleak urban reality. A scientist working to solve the plastic problem grapples with whether to have a child. A ballet dancer endeavours to inhabit the consciousness of a rat.

In This Ravishing World is a full-throated chorus — with Nature joining in — marveling at the exquisite beauty of our world, and pleading, raging, and ultimately urging all of its inhabitants toward activism and resistance.

Magpie MurdersMagpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Orion)

When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She’s worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It’s just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway…

But Conway’s latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder.

Recently finished

The Days of Our Birth by Charlie Laidlaw (Rampart Books)

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay (Headline)

What Cathy Will Read Next

Dead GroundDead Ground by Graham Hurley (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

1936. Anglo-Breton translator Annie Wrenne is working in Madrid when the Spanish Civil War breaks out. Annie becomes a nurse on the front line, but after falling in love with a patient, she ends up pregnant – and abandoned – by a man she thought she knew.

Annie passes the rest of the war in a haze, her only consolation her relationship with mysterious Republican fighter Carlos Ortega. Annie finds herself caught up in Ortega’s world, a web of intrigue, which leads to her recruitment into MI5.

On her first mission, Annie must pose as Ortega’s wife and head to Algeciras. Hitler’s Operation Felix – his plan to control the Mediterranean and force Churchill to the negotiating table – has been set into motion, and the ‘couple’ must help prevent the Nazis from seizing Gibraltar.

But Ortega has secretly been working for the Nationalists, part of Madrid’s Fifth Column. If it falls to Annie – and Ortega – to save the day for the Allied cause, can she trust a man who has changed sides yet again?

Book Review – The Days Of Our Birth by Charlie Laidlaw @claidlawauthor

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About the Book

It was a perfect relationship until time pulled them apart.

The Days of Our Birth delves into the intricate bond between Peter and Sarah as they navigate their formative years. Spanning from their sixth birthday through two decades, the narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Sarah’s placement on the autism spectrum.

With a blend of humour and poignancy, the book intricately weaves together themes of love and friendship, unravelling the tale of two individuals who grapple with their emotions for each other, even though they remain unacknowledged.

Format: ebook (294 pages) Publisher: Rampart Books
Publication date: 27th June 2024 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Find The Days Of Our Birth on Goodreads

Pre-order/Purchase The Days Of Our Birth from Amazon UK [Link provided for convenience, not as part of an affiliate programme]

My Review

The Days Of Our Birth charts the relationship between Sarah and Peter over the course of twenty years starting with their childhood friendship – a friendship formed partly because they are next door neighbours and partly because they were born on the same day – and ending in the present day. Along the way we drop in on them, so to speak, at various points in their lives, sometimes on birthdays but also at other significant moments as well. (The story does not unfold chronologically, sometimes looping back on itself, so keep an eye on the chapter headings.)

Peter’s story is a coming-of-age narrative charting life events such as his first sexual encounter, his travels around Europe and the emerging evidence of his literary talent. Although he experiences personal tragedy there are many light-hearted moments, such as his father’s culinary experiments. Peter is the one person who accepts Sarah just as she is, becoming her supporter, confidante and companion. He doesn’t care that other people, including his best friend Cal, think it strange he and Sarah walk hand in hand and yet, as Peter approaches adolescence, he does begin to wonder about the nature of their friendship.

Sarah’s story sensitively explores what it is like to be on the autistic spectrum, to be aware that you see the world slightly differently than other people and that they will make assumptions about you because of this. Sarah’s fierce intelligence sees her ostracised by her school classmates and nicknamed ‘Psycho Sarah’. At times she even makes deliberate mistakes to avoid standing out, a kind of ‘self-harm’ she re-enacts periodically over the years. Even when she has forged a successful career and knows she makes a valuable contribution, she still feels something of an outsider despite her attempts to modify her behaviour to match what she thinks others expect.

Sarah and Peter each have things they admire about the other. Peter appreciates Sarah’s ability to observe people, to piece things together and make sense of situations, to see things he misses. ‘She’s able to look under people’s skin and peel away at them, layer by layer, like an onion’. Sarah admires Peter’s willingness to improvise, to do random things without needing to plan every step of the way as she does.

Although the bond between Peter and Sarah persists over the years, it is periodically tested, in some cases almost to breaking point. There are mis-steps, misunderstandings and periods where they lose touch. But although their relationship changes over time it does so in a way they could not have imagined or hoped. I wasn’t the only one with tears running down my cheeks at the end.

Don’t be put off by the fairly uninspiring cover because The Days Of Our Birth is a thoughtful, beautifully written story about the bond between two people.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of the the author.

In three words: Tender, insightful, absorbing
Try something similar: This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech

About the Author

Charlie Laidlaw is a PR consultant, teaches creative writing, and lives in East Lothian. He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and was previously a national newspaper journalist and defence intelligence analyst. He has lived in London and Edinburgh, and has two children.

His other novels are Everyday Magic, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead, The Time Between Space, Being Alert! and Love Potions and Other Calamities.

Connect with Charlie
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