Tag: Reading Challenges

Book Review: Song by Michelle Jana Chan

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Song Cover ImageAbout the Book

Song is just a boy when he sets out from Lishui village in China. Brimming with courage and ambition, he leaves behind his impoverished broken family hoping he’ll make his fortune and return home. Chasing tales of sugarcane, rubber and gold, Song embarks upon a perilous voyage across the globe to the British colony of Guiana, but once there he discovers riches are not so easy to come by and he is forced into labouring as an indentured plantation worker.

This is only the beginning of Song’s remarkable life, but as he finds himself between places and between peoples, and increasingly aware that the circumstances of birth carry more weight than accomplishments or good deeds, Song fears he may live as an outsider forever.

This beautifully written and evocative story spans nearly half a century and half the globe, and though it is set in another century, Song’s story of emigration and the quest for an opportunity to improve his life is timeless.

Format: Hardcover, ebook (464 pp.)    Publisher: Unbound
Published: 28th June 2018                      Genre: Historical Fiction

Pre-order/Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Song on Goodreads

My Review

I was supposed to have been publishing my review of Song as part of the recent blog tour but due to a mix-up over dates (largely my fault) I wasn’t able to do this.  I’m rectifying that omission now.

Arriving in Guiana, nine-year old Song finds little evidence of the easy fortunes to be made that enticed him to risk his life to travel there.  Instead he finds only punishing labour, harsh cruelty and an existence akin to slavery on a sugarcane plantation.  By a stroke of good fortune, Song is taken under the wing of Father Holmes who teaches him to read and write and introduces Song to the love of books and reading.  Not everyone agrees with Father Holmes’ decision to educate a ‘houseboy’ but Father Holmes robustly defends his actions.  “Reading changes everything.  Writing will give him a step up.  Whatever Song chooses to do in life he’ll do it better with a pen or book in his hand.” (Who could disagree with that?)  Together Song and Father Holmes form a close bond, sharing a mutual interest in documenting the native birds of Guiana.

A trip ‘upriver’ with Father Holmes gives Song a possible new direction in life. However, it’s one that is not without danger.  When a shocking act of betrayal and violence occurs, it results in a desperate act that will haunt Song for years afterwards.  It also illustrates the lure of gold which, like a fever, infects the so-called ‘pork-knockers’ who set out to make their fortunes.

As Song sets out to achieve the life objectives he has set himself, he faces discrimination and injustice.  This reader certainly gave a little cheer as Song begins to fight back against the forces of the “old boys’ network” he finds ranged against him. However, along the way, he is forced to make difficult and at times questionable moral choices.

Song is clever, resourceful and mindful of the advice he receives from the influential figures in his life: Father Holmes (a wonderful warm and humane character); his shipmate on the terrible voyage to Guiana, Li Bai; and mining engineer, Mr Leigh.  He also benefits from the wisdom of several women – Jingy, Josie, Amalia – with their ability to read a situation.

I’m always drawn to descriptions of food in books and there are some great ones in Song that really bring to life the atmosphere of Georgetown.  ‘There were baked chicken legs in molasses; chicken wings in forest honey; bass with onion and ginger; cauldrons of pepper pot; rice coloured with strands of saffron; blackened barbecue pork; potato and pea curry with turmeric, and dozen dishes of stewed okra and fried tomatoes.’

A repeated theme of the book is the importance of living a life that is ‘a story worth telling’.  Song’s life is definitely a story worth telling.   Song is a wonderful tale of survival, friendship, courage and triumph over adversity.  It also has at its heart a tender and heart-warming love story.   Michelle, you had me in tears at the end.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Unbound, and Random Things Tours, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Compelling, emotional, uplifting

Try something similar…The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (read my review here)

Michelle Chan Author PictureAbout the Author

Michelle Jana Chan is an award-winning journalist and travel editor of Vanity Fair. She’s also contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveller, presenter of the BBC’s Global Guide and a writer for the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Travel & Leisure. Michelle has been named the Travel Media Awards’ Travel Writer of the Year. She was a Morehead-Cain scholar at the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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My Week in Books – 15th July ’18

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MyWeekinBooks

New arrivals  

The Magick of Mister LillyThe Magick of Mister Lilly by Tobsha Learner (eARC, NetGalley)

In 1641, the country of England stands divided. London has become a wasps’ nest of spies, and under the eyes of the Roundheads those who practice magic are routinely sent to hang. Living in exile in the Surrey countryside is the Master Astrologer and learned magician William Lilly. Since rumours of occult practice lost him the favour of Parliament, he has not returned to the city. But his talents are well-known, and soon he is called up to London once more, to read the fate of His Majesty the King.

What he sees in the stars will change the course of history.   Only Lilly and a circle of learned astrologers – Cunning Folk – know that London is destined to suffer plague and fire before the decade is through, and must summon angel and demon to sway the political powers from the war the country is heading toward. In doing so, Lilly will influence far greater destinies than his own and encounter great danger. But there will be worse to come . . .

An epic telling of the role of magic in the English Civil War, The Magick of Master Lilly is the story of the most influential astrologer in English history.

The Winter SoldierThe Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason (eARC, NetGalley)

Vienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. Enraptured by romantic tales of battlefield surgery, he enlists, expecting a position at a well-organized field hospital. But when he arrives, at a commandeered church tucked away high in a remote valley of the Carpathian Mountains, he finds a freezing outpost ravaged by typhus. The other doctors have fled, and only a single, mysterious nurse named Sister Margarete remains.

But Lucius has never lifted a surgeon’s scalpel. And as the war rages across the winter landscape, he finds himself falling in love with the woman from whom he must learn a brutal, makeshift medicine. Then one day, an unconscious soldier is brought in from the snow, his uniform stuffed with strange drawings. He seems beyond rescue, until Lucius makes a fateful decision that will change the lives of doctor, patient, and nurse forever.

From the gilded ballrooms of Imperial Vienna to the frozen forests of the Eastern Front; from hardscrabble operating rooms to battlefields thundering with Cossack cavalry, The Winter Soldier is the story of war and medicine, of family, of finding love in the sweeping tides of history, and finally, of the mistakes we make, and the precious opportunities to atone.

Sleeping Through WarSleeping Through War by Jackie Carreira (ebook, review copy courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources)

Set against the backdrop of real, world-changing events, these are the stories that are forgotten in the history books.

The year is 1968 and the world is changing forever. During the month of May, students are rioting and workers are striking across the globe, civil rights are being fought and died for, nuclear bombs are being tested, there are major conflicts on every continent, and war is raging in Vietnam. Against this volatile background, three women strive to keep everything together.

Rose must keep her dignity and compassion as a West Indian nurse in East London. Amalia must keep hoping that her son can escape their seedy life in Lisbon. And Mrs Johnson in Washington DC must keep writing to her son in Vietnam. She has no-one else to talk to. Three different women, three different countries, but all striving to survive – a courageous attitude that everybody can relate to.

Although Sleeping Through War is a work of fiction, this somewhat hidden history attempts to humanise a few weeks in time that were so stuffed with monumental events that it’s easy to forget the people involved. The author was a child in 1968 and lived in London and Lisbon during the 1960s. She met women like these and didn’t want their voices to go unheard into the future. Readers of both history and literary fiction will enjoy this emotionally-vivid work that weaves fiction into fact

In the BloodIn the Blood by Ruth Mancini (hardcover, review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus)

In southeast London, a young mother has been accused of an unthinkable crime: poisoning her own child – and then leaving him to die.  The mother, Ellie, is secretive and challenging – she’s had a troubled upbringing – but does that mean she’s capable of murder?

Balancing the case with raising her disabled five-year-old son, criminal defence lawyer Sarah Kellerman sets out in desperate pursuit of the truth. But when her own child becomes unwell, Sarah realises she’s been drawn into a dangerous game.

Unsettling and compulsive, In the Blood is a chilling study of class, motherhood and power from a new star in crime fiction.

Happiness is a CollageHappiness is a Collage by Gita V. Reddy (eARC, courtesy of the author)

This collection of fifteen stories leads the reader into a world that is at once Indian and universal. The stories explore love, life, loss, and relationships.

A painter derives inspiration from a long lost love. Every night after going to bed, a woman scours a vast desert for her missing husband. A young woman strides through two worlds. A son experiences the miracle of his father’s immense love. An actor’s wife struggles to keep her husband from slipping into his reel life. And a busy professional tries to factor in pregnancy and motherhood into her hectic life.  Among those traversing this space are a henpecked billionaire, a homeless boy, a middle-aged wife dealing with infidelity, and a seeker finding solace with a lion and a deer.

Happiness is a Collage follows the author’s well-received collection, A Tapestry of Tears.  Published on 4th August 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here.

IndividutopiaIndividutopia by Joss Sheldon (eARC, courtesy of the author)

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SOCIETY

‘Beloved friend,

The year is 2084, and that famous Margaret Thatcher quote has become a reality: There really is no such thing as society. No one speaks to anyone else. No one looks at anyone else. People don’t collaborate, they only compete.

I hate to admit it, but this has had tragic consequences. Unable to satisfy their social urges, the population has fallen into a pit of depression and anxiety. Suicide has become the norm.

It all sounds rather morbid, does it not? But please don’t despair, there is hope, and it comes in the form of our hero: Renee Ann Blanca. Wishing to fill the society-shaped hole in her life, our Renee does the unthinkable: She goes in search of human company! It’s a radical act and an enormous challenge. But that, I suppose, is why her tale’s worth recounting. It’s as gripping as it is touching, and I think you’re going to love it…

Your trusty narrator,

PP
Published on 23rd August 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Tuesday – I joined the blog tour for The Distance, the latest novel by best-selling author Zoë Folbigg, sharing an extract from the book.   This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was by way of a half year round-up as participants shared Best Books I’ve Read in 2018 (So Far).  I also shared my review of the latest action-packed instalment in Gordon Doherty’s Legionary series set in ancient Rome, Legionary: The Blood Road (Legionary #7).

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now and what I’ll be reading next.

Thursday – For Throwback Thursday I published my review of Grace by Paul Lynch, one of the books shortlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2018.

Friday – I welcomed Nicky Moxey, author of Sheriff and Priest, to What Cathy Read Next. Nicky’s fascinating guest post covered some of the turbulent events of King John’s reign, part of her research for the sequel to Sheriff and Priest.

Saturday – I took part in the blog tour for The Girl in the Pink Raincoat by Alrene Hughes sharing my Q&A with Alrene about, amongst other things, her research for the book and the surprising things that come turn up in the process.

Sunday – I published review of The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen.

Challenge updates

  • Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge – 102 out of 156 books read, 3 more than last week
  • Classics Club Challenge – 16 out of 50 books read, same as last week
  • NetGalley/Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2018 (Gold) – 36 ARCs read and reviewed out of 50, 1 more than last week
  • From Page to Screen– 11 book/film comparisons out of 15 completed, same as last week
  • 2018 TBR Pile Challenge – 5 out of 12 books read, same as last week
  • COMPLETED Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2018 – 51 books out of 50 read, 3 more than last week
  • When Are You Reading? Challenge 2018 – 7 out of 12 books read, same as last week
  • What’s In A Name Reading Challenge – 1 out of 6 books read, same as last week
  • Buchan of the Month – 6 out of 12 books read, same as last week
  • 20 Books of Summer Challenge – 7 out of 20 books read, same as last week

On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: Song by Michelle Jana Chan
  • Book Review: The Road to Newgate by Kate Braithwaite
  • Blog Tour/Book Review: The Emperor of Shoes by Spencer Wise
  • Blog Tour/Book Review: Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire by M. R. C. Kasasian
  • Book Review: The Secrets of Primrose Square by Claudia Carroll