Tag: NetGalley

#BlogTour #BookReview Sell Us the Rope by Stephen May @SandstonePress

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Sell Us The Rope Tour BannerWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Sell Us The Rope by Stephen May. My thanks to Ceris at Sandstone Press for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy via NetGalley.

Sell Us The RopeAbout the Book

May 1907. Young Stalin – poet, bank-robber, spy – is in London for the 5th Congress of the Russian Communist Party.

As he builds his powerbase in the party, Stalin manipulates alliances with Lenin, Trotsky, and Rosa Luxemburg under the eyes of the Czar’s secret police.

Meanwhile he is drawn to the fiery Finnish activist Elli Vuokko and risks everything in a relationship as complicated as it is dangerous.

Format: Paperback (288 pages)    Publisher: Sandstone Press
Publication date: 1st March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Sell Us the Rope on Goodreads

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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

Sell Us The Rope is an inventive, very clever play on actual historical events. The 5th Congress of the Russian Communist Party really did take place in London in 1907 and Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, the man we would later come to know simply as Stalin but who at the time preferred to be known as Koba, did attend along with other famous Communist party members such as Lenin (referred to as Ulyanov in the book), Trotsky, Maxim Gorky and Rosa Luxemburg.  The Conference itself was dominated by internal wrangling and a conflict between the Bolshevik and Menshavik wings of the party over its future direction, however it’s not necessary to know any of this to enjoy the book which is much more about the characters than the politics.

The young Stalin we meet in the book is a wily, formidably determined figure, propelled by a sense of destiny. ‘His country will always need him, there will always be a national emergency.’ The son of a violent father, there are already signs of the inner ruthlessness and capacity for violence that will later be unleashed on the world. ‘Anyone can learn to kill. It’s learning to live with having killed that is the difficult part.’ It’s clear that Koba has already learned to live with it and lots of other things besides. He definitely has a short fuse, having to be restrained from assaulting a journalist who attempts to take a photograph of him quite soon after his arrival in London.

It would probably be overstating it to say we a ‘softer’ side to Koba in the book but his relationship with Finnish activist, Elli Vuokko, does show he has a capacity for affection, albeit it represents a betrayal of his wife.  And the way Koba befriends young Arthur Bacon, the son of the owner of his lodgings, is rather touching, even if Arthur does appear to be an entrepreneur, perhaps even a capitalist, in the making.

It was interesting to witness Koba’s and Elli’s impressions of London as they walk the streets of the city. They are appalled by the poor housing, poverty and the lack of sanitation they see and the city’s downtrodden population. ‘The under-sized, misshapen people, the tired and skinny livestock. The children still, dead-eyed and sullen, or, alternatively, running and pushing or shrieking like supercharged geese through the crowds.’ Elli is particularly conscious of the demeanour of the women she sees. ‘They are so wan, so many with a curious bluey-yellow patina to the skin, so many with a haunted look. So many muttering to themselves. So many coughing.’  Asked what’s the matter with them, Koba replies, ‘Work. Children. Degradation. All three.’

In case you’re getting the impression the book is a depressing read, I can assure you there are plenty of moments of, often deadpan, humour.  For example, Koba’s reaction to an English cup of tea: ‘I think I can’t drink this grandmother’s piss’. Or when describing Rosa Luxemburg: ‘Elli could listen to her talk about anything for hours. Which is probably just as well’.  Or when lured to alternative lodgings by the prospect of a flushing toilet, Koba and his companions are disappointed to learn they may only flush it once a day, at 10pm to be precise – except in case of ‘special need’. Asked to elaborate, Arthur explains, ‘Da says if it’s proper disgusting, you can pull the handle’.

For those who crave an element of intrigue there is Koba’s sparring with agents of the Okhrana, the Tsar’s secret police, who are attempting to use their hold over him to force him to denounce influential members of the Communist party who threaten their interests.  But perhaps it’s not so easy to get one over on Koba?

The author’s historical note provides fascinating background detail. I was surprised by how many of the characters, including ones I had thought might be the product of the author’s imagination, were actually drawn from real life, such as Arthur Bacon who really did run errands for Stalin. The same goes for many of the locations, some of which still exist albeit in a different form. By the way, for those wondering about the book’s title, let Koba explain. ‘You know the old saying that when it comes time to hang the capitalists, they will sell us the rope.’

Sell Us The Rope is a rather chilling insight into the complicated and violent history of Russia, especially given current events. However, as a work of fiction it’s a wonderfully immersive read, full of atmosphere and with a delicious thread of dark humour.

In three words: Witty, clever, spirited

Try something similar: Sergeant Salinger by Jerome Charyn

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Stephen May credit Jonathan RingAbout the Author

Stephen May is the author of five novels including Life! Death! Prizes! which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and The Guardian Not The Booker Prize. He has also been shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year and is a winner of the Media Wales Reader’s Prize. He has also written plays, as well as for television and film. He lives in West Yorkshire.

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#BlogTour #BookReview Love in a Time of War by Adrienne Chinn @rararesources @OneMoreChapter_

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Love In A Time of WarWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Love in a Time of War by Adrienne Chinn which is published on 3rd March. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and to One More Chapter for my digital review copy via NetGalley. Do check out the post by my tour buddies for today, The Page Ladies.

Love in a Time of War final revisedAbout the Book

Three sisters
The Great War
The end of innocence…

In 1913, in a quiet corner of London, the three Fry sisters are coming of age, dreaming of all the possibilities the bright future offers. But when war erupts their innocence is shattered and a new era of uncertainty begins.

Cecelia loves Max but his soldier’s uniform is German, not British, and suddenly the one man she loves is the one man she can’t have.

Jessie enlists in the army as a nurse and finally finds the adventure she’s craved when she’s sent to Gallipoli and Egypt, but it comes with an unimaginable cost.

Etta elopes to Capri with her Italian love, Carlo, but though her growing bump is real, her marriage certificate is a lie.

As the three sisters embark on journeys they never could have imagined, their mother Christina worries about the harsh new realities they face, and what their exposure to the wider world means for the secrets she’s been keeping…

Format: Paperback (480 pages)     Publisher: One More Chapter
Publication date: 3rd March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Love in a Time of War (The Three Fry Sisters #1) on Goodreads

Purchase links
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My Review

I was first introduced to the writing of Adrienne Chinn when I read The English Wife in 2020 and I remarked then on the author’s ability to enable the reader to navigate multiple timelines. Love in a Time of War is a little more straightforward, moving between events in the years 1913 to 1919, with occasional trips back to the 1890s.

Love in a Time of War is the first book in a trilogy featuring the Fry sisters – Cecilia (Celie) and non-identical twins, Jessica (Jessie) and Etta – and their mother, Christina. The author has created distinct personalities for the three sisters. Celie, the eldest, is clear-headed, thoughtful and has a strong sense of justice particularly when it comes to the question of women’s suffrage.  Etta is more headstrong, fired up by the desire to become an artist and willingly immersing herself in a bohemian lifestyle.  Jessie is the most serious of the sisters, determined to put her nursing skills to use and resist the pressure to follow the conventional path of marriage and motherhood.

The latter is the path their mother Christina is determined they should follow.  She appears almost puritanical in that respect, indeed one might say hyprocritical given what the reader learns about her early life.  Being more generous, perhaps her actions are driven by a genuine desire to prevent her daughters making the same unwise decisions that she did in allowing her heart to rule her head. Whatever her motivation, it seems to have the opposite effect to that she intended as both Celie and Etta become involved in relationships with men who do not make ideal husband material in the eyes of Christina. Even Jessie, who was my favourite character, eventually embarks on a relationship with a man who for many reasons would probably not be welcomed with open arms in the Fry household. (I’d have welcomed him in any day!)

A character I’ve not mentioned so far is the sisters’ father, Gerald. He was the character with whom I empathised the most. Having done his best to provide a stable home for his daughters, encourage their interests and be a devoted husband, I was intensely moved by his discovery that all is not what it seems in his marriage. In keeping secrets from her family, I was reminded of the quotation from Marmion by Sir Walter Scott, ‘O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’

Although the First World War provides the backdrop to many of the events in the book and transports the reader to a number of locations including Italy and Egypt, another constant element is the campaign for women’s suffrage.  All three sisters reflect the ideals of the movement, albeit in different ways. Celie’s is the most obvious, becoming involved in organising marches for Millicent Fawcett’s National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and, later, writing newspaper articles and taking photographs to publicise the vital contribution of women to the war effort, such as those working in munitions factories.  Etta’s unconventional lifestyle is a challenge to social conventions that sees her hobnobbing with leading lights in the Bloomsbury Group such as artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and writer Virginia Woolf.  Jessica’s determination to forge her own path in life and be judged on her ability rather than her gender, represents the independence that many women were fighting for.

Those who love the idea of chance encounters will be rewarded by some coincidences that conjure up that famous line from the film Casablanca, ‘Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine’. Indeed at one point, when a family connection is discovered between two strangers, one of them remarks, ‘Small world, isn’t it?’. Quite.  However these encounters are pivotal to the storyline, on occasions in quite deadly ways. They also serve to demonstrate that, in war, soldiers on both sides experience the same level of fear and anxiety and face the same moral dilemmas.

As might be expected from the first instalment in a trilogy, Love in a Time of War ends at significant moments in the lives of the sisters. With the war finally ended, what new horizons await them? There will be plenty of readers eager to find out.

In three words: Romantic, dramatic, expansive

Try something similar: Daughters of War by Dinah Jeffries

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Love In a Time of War - Adrienne_Chinn_24_6_21_210lo_res_OnlineAbout the Author

Adrienne Chinn was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, grew up in Quebec, and eventually made her way to London, England after a career as a journalist. In England she worked as a TV and film researcher before embarking on a career as an interior designer, lecturer, and writer. When not up a ladder or at the computer writing, she often can be found rummaging through flea markets or haggling in the Marrakech souk.

Her second novel, The English Wife – a timeslip story set in World War II England and contemporary Newfoundland – was published in June 2020 and has become an international bestseller. Her debut novel, The Lost Letter from Morocco, was published by Avon Books UK in 2019. Her latest novel, Love in a Time of War, set during WWI, is the first in a series of three books based around the changing lives of three English sisters and their half-Italian mother, with a timeslip to 1890s Capri and London.

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