Ghostwritten

Something has to be said for reading an author's works in chronological order according to when they were written. Having already read Cloud Atlas, I picked up a second hand copy of Ghostwritten to read on my holiday. Ghostwritten is written in a similar style to Cloud Atlas (or should that be the other way round?) in that the novel is several stories that flow in and out of each other. In each new section there will be at least one link to a previous story, whether this be the main character literally bumping into a character from another story, reading about another character in a newspaper article etc. What made it confusing for me is that characters that appear in Cloud Atlas appear in Ghostwritten; for me it was like hearing the mention of an old friend in passing, but ofcourse had I read the books in chronological order, I wouldn't have realised the link. But then again, maybe I wouldn't have picked it out if I had read Cloud Atlas second, as the characters in question are far from major characters in Ghostwritten. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but would have to point out that the links made throughout this book are not as subtle as the thread that flows through Cloud Atlas. My favourite section was the one that followed the story of the ghost or spirit which transmigrated from person to person. What an interesting idea, and possibly a premise for a longer book!

Regeneration

Regeneration is a very interesting book, which explores the some of the effects of war on soldiers. Pat Barker uses a mixture of fact and fiction, focusing on the lives of several soldiers, particularly Siegfried Sassoon and Billy Prior, the book explores some of the psychological effects of warfare. The soldiers are based in Craiglockhart War Hospital, and receiving treatment from army psychiatrist William Rivers. There is not very much that I can say about this book without giving away essential information on the plot. However, it's very cleverly written and it was sometimes hard to distinguish fact from fiction. At the end of the copy that I read the author's notes contained a helpful list of the facts that the book was based on. I would recommend not reading this until the end of the novel, to retain the flow and language of the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, despite not really enjoying war novels, and struggled to put it down.

Cranford

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell was recently made into a TV costume drama - this passed me by completely, although I know several people who were really taken with the TV drama. Perhaps this was a good thing, as it would have annoyed me to read the book with the voice of Judy Dench or Maggie Smith or whoever else plays in my head. Cranford was a quaint story of some old English ladies who live in the quiet town or village of Cranford. Nothing much of excitement seems to visit the town, and the highlight of the ladies' lives seems to be visiting each other during the structured visiting hours. Most ladies are spinsters or widows and the male presence is distinctly lacking, and the occasional visit from a man is equally a cause for concern and excitement for the ladies. Overall, it is a lovely little story of a community of ladies rallying aroung for their friend Miss Matty Jenkins during harder times. A pleasant and quaint read, but made the better for the version of it that I own; the pictured Penguin cloth-bound beauty, and the beginning of (I hope) a lovely collection of the series that will adorn my bookshelf.