Tag: blogtour

#BookReview #BlogTour The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson @HoZ_Books #TheBlackCrescent

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Welcome to the opening day of the blog tour for The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson which will be published on 3rd August and is available for pre-order now. My thanks to Poppy at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy. Do check out the post by my tour buddy for today, Sarah at A Cottage Full of Books.

You can listen to Jane talking about the book here.

About the Book

Hamou Badi is born in a mountain village with the magical signs of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding all manner of lost objects, hidden water.

But instead, Hamou finds a body.

This unsolved murder instils in Hamou a deep desire for order and he trains as an officer of the law, working for the French in Casablanca. But the city is trapped in the turmoil of the nationalist uprising, and soon he will be forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves…

Format: Hardback (400 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd August 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find The Black Crescent on Goodreads

Purchase links 
Bookshop.org 
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK 
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

In her Author Note, Jane Johnson writes, ‘I love to learn when I write fiction, and I hope readers will enjoy learning alongside me.’ I certainly did. Although I was aware of a French influence in the history of Morocco, I knew nothing about the extent of French control over the country and, in particular, the period of unrest that followed the exile of the Sultan of Morocco in 1953. Nor was I aware of the brutal actions taken by the French authorities to suppress the independence movement, some parts of which (like the fictional Black Crescent of the title) turned to increasingly violent measures.

Hamou Badi is our witness to these events, events he views with increasing horror. ‘Violent deaths became a daily occurrence. Regime collaborators killed by nationalists. Nationalists executed by the authorities. Moroccan activists killed by settlers. Settlers murdered by terrorists.’ He struggles with a growing sense of complicity; he joined the French police force out of a desire to do good but finds his integrity increasingly compromised.

Hamou comes to epitomise a person caught between two worlds and two identities. As he observes, ‘There it was, he was alone again, stranded in that no-man’s land between the rock of the French regime and the hard place inhabited by his own people.’ That there will come a breaking point seems unavoidable and when it does, it has devastating consequences.

Hamou is a solitary, self-effacing person making him an entirely sympathetic character. His innate sense of justice and humanity shines through everything he does. For instance, the kindness he shows towards Didi, a young beggar. And his instinctive desire to help those in trouble will reap rewards at crucial points.

Although there are brutal scenes at some points in the story, there’s also humour particularly towards the end of the book as Hamou takes up a new role and is presented with some tricky problems to solve. There was even a laugh out loud moment, which rarely happens for me.

The author’s love for Morocco, its people and its culture is evident throughout the book. (You can read about her very special – and romantic – connection with the country on her website.) In particular, there are wonderful (and mouth-watering) descriptions of the food of Morocco but also of its landscape, architecture, traditions, social and religious customs and rich history. The strong sense of community in which ties of blood are of particular importance is exemplified by Hamou’s family. But there is also a sense of change in the air, a transition from old ways to more modern ways, with some things lost in the process but others gained.

I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read by Jane Johnson – Court of Lions, The Sea Gate and The White Hare – but I think The Black Crescent is her best yet. It had everything I look for in historical fiction: a fascinating period setting, an engaging central character and a compelling story line that transported me to a different time and place. And, for me, it had the perfect ending.

In three words: Immersive, powerful, assured

About the Author

Jane Johnson is a British novelist, historian and publisher. She is the UK publisher of many bestselling authors, including George R.R. Martin. She has written for both adults and children, including the bestselling novels The Tenth Gift and The Salt Road. Jane is married to a Berber chef she met while climbing in Morocco. She divides her time between London, Cornwall and the Anti-Atlas Mountains.

Connect with Jane
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#BookReview #BlogTour The Unheard by Anne Worthington @Confingo @RichardsonHelen #TheUnheard

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Unheard by Anne Worthington. My thanks to Helen at Helen Richardson PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Cōnfingō for my review copy.

The Unheard is a book that has been wowing readers. If you don’t believe me, check out this fabulous review by Linda at Linda’s Book Bag.

About the Book

Tom Pullan knows that the people who visit him are trying to tell him something, but he cannot remember what. He knows the faces in his memory, the ones he loved, are not the ones around him now.

We are drawn into a world where brutal events from the past lie just below the surface. Plunged inside the characters’ heads, we experience their thoughts and feelings: sorrow and rage they cannot share; the intense feelings and turbulent sexuality of a teenage girl; a boy who saw something that casts a long shadow over his life.

What do we do with a lifetime of unheard truths, questions and fears? The Unheard is a novel about memory, and what happens to the experiences that are too much for us but we are unable to leave behind.

Format: Paperback (160 pages) Publisher: Confingo Publishing
Publication date: 11th July 2023 Genre: Literary Fiction

Find The Unheard on Goodreads

Purchase links 
Publisher | Amazon UK 
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

Tom has dementia and May, his wife of many years, is seriously ill. They’d always promised each other they’d stay together to the end but now this seems it might not be possible. Tom forgets a lot these days, like what time it is or whether he’s had his tea. But there have also been things in his life that he couldn’t forget even though he wanted to, like his experiences during the war. And, as a child, there were things he was told he must forget, terrible things that he didn’t fully understand at the time. If your heart hasn’t been broken a little bit by the end of the first part of the book then prepare for it to have been torn asunder by the end. (Please can someone invent a way to reach into a book and give the characters a hug.)

Moving back in time, alongside depicting events in Tom’s life, the book explores social and political issues such as economic injustice and digital exclusion, particularly during the section of the book set in 1984, a time of industrial unrest in the UK. Tom has a visceral reaction to the person he calls ‘that woman’ (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) and has no truck with the theory of ‘trickle down’ economics. As he says, ‘When have the rich allowed their money to spill over for the rest of us? And when has money ever flowed down to the poor?’. Quite, Tom.

The experiences of Maggie, his teenage daughter, are raw and disturbing but demonstrate that there are many ways to be, or feel, unheard.

Being inside Tom’s head is often unsettling and heartrending but at other times his resilience and determination to do the best for his family make it joyous.

The writing is wonderful. Even when the author is describing pain or despair, there’ll be a phrase that makes you stop and think, yes, that must be what it’s like – or even, I know that feeling. I especially loved the use of repetition, the phrases that occur in Tom’s head over and over again, like a refrain.

The Unheard is one of those books that it’s difficult to do justice to in a review and I don’t think I’ve come close to communicating how brilliant I thought it was. It’s a short book but it packs a real punch. And after this I don’t think I’ll ever think about the song ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine’ in quite the same way again.

In three words: Moving, powerful, lyrical

Try something similar: Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry

About the Author

Anne Worthington is a documentary photographer and writer. She was awarded an MA with Distinction for Creative Writing in 2018. Anne was a finalist for Iceland Writers Retreat 2015, and shortlisted for the Fish Flash Fiction Prize 2018. She lives in the north of England. The Unheard is her first novel.

Connect with Anne
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