Kay Langdale

I love Kay Langdale's writing. Her last book, The Comfort of Others, was one of my top reads of 2016 and so I was obviously very keen to read The Way Back to Us. I have to say that I don't think I have enough superlatives to do a review justice but I'll give it a go!

The Way Back to Us is about a family in crisis. Anna, Tom and their children, Isaac and Teddy. 5 year old Teddy has Spinal Muscular Atophy (SMA) Type 2 and the diagnosis sent the family into a spin. Anna is defensive and prickly, trying to keep her children as safe as they can be but she's pushing Tom away and this book is about finding a way back to the love and respect that they had for each other before. Whether they can achieve it or not I will leave you to find out for yourself.

The story is told by the four family members in chapters from their point of view. This worked brilliantly and was a great device to show just how each character felt. Kay Langdale proved with The Comfort of Others how adept she is at writing from a child's point of view and once again she has hit exactly the right note. Both Isaac and Teddy are perfectly drawn with Isaac having to be the responsible older brother and therefore being older than his years.

I don't very often mark passages in books but I marked several in this one and I'd like to share one or two with you. This first passage is one which stood out because of the beautiful descriptiveness of the writing.

"He smells of otherness: of soap wrapped in waxed paper in a Swiss hotel room; of the lemon flannel given to him on the plane; of the stale air of the train home; and faintly, so faintly, of snow, of a clear, bright sprinkling of coldness."

It's a breadth of description that I don't often come across in the books that I read.

Anna is so caught up in caring for Teddy that she has little room in her life for anybody else, apart from Isaac that is. So when she meets another mum who tries to be friendly, Anna thinks:

"From the corner of my eye, her mouth is like a mollusc, latching onto my skin, keen for purchase. It's unbearable".

I just love how observant and astute Langdale is. I really could wax lyrical about her writing. I found myself empathising with a character and then in the next chapter, narrated by a different character, I could see it from their point of view too. There's no wrong or right, just a slow fracturing of a family.

I rarely cry at books but this one got me, right near the end. I'd invested so much in the characters that I really felt right there in their lives. The Way Back to Us is stunning and beautiful and moving. A triumph!… (más)

I picked this up from the library on a whim, and was surprised by how invested I became in Scout's story from the opening chapter. It was really hard to put down due to enjoyable nature of the story and the well fleshed-out characters, so I knocked it out in two sittings (broken up by a thoughtful walk home from the station).

‘Her Giant Octopus Moment’ is the story of a mother and daughter on the run, practically living week to week until they are discovered again, and are forced to take flight once more.

Their secret for being constantly on the go is revealed at the start of the novel (and is mentioned in the blurb in alternate editions) is enough to make you question Joanie’s intentions and integrity. Having signed on to be the surrogate mother on behalf of Ned and Elisabetta Beecham, she changed her mind several months into the pregnancy. In order to keep “her” child, Joanie faked a miscarriage, went overseas, pretended to lose her passport, and applied for a new one as “Joanie”, previously having been just Joan. Things become harder for the pair on the run as the couple try to track her down, in order to discover what is really best for Scout.

For a full review, check it out on my blog:

http://www.wallflowerblog.com/inalibrary/2014/09/kay-langdales-her-giant-octopus...… (más)

I don't know why Kay Langdale is not better known as she is a beautiful and insightful writer. I had read Her Giant Octopus Moment a few years ago and thought it was brilliant but had never got round to reading any of her others until now. The Comfort of Others tells the story of Minnie and Max. Minnie is in her 70s and lives at Rosemount, a mansion house which once had acres of estate surrounding it but her father sold off all the land in the 50s and so it stands in the middle of a housing estate. In one of the houses on the estate lives 11 year old Max. He lives with his mum but when a new man comes on the scene Max finds himself feeling pushed out. Minnie and Max strike up a unique relationship and this, along with the telling of their stories, helps them come to terms with their individual situations.

I loved this book so much. It's written beautifully. Minnie is such a sad character looking back at her past and one of her chapters in particular was so moving it brought tears to my eyes. And Max is just brilliant, he's quirky and funny and his feelings at being pushed out of his family situation were spot on. The setting works well too - the idea of a mansion house stuck right in the middle of a housing estate was interesting and was described in such a way that I could easily conjure it up in my mind.

I'm going to look at getting hold of Kay Langdale's other books because I loved this one so much. It's a short book so it didn't take long to read, but I savoured every word of it.… (más)

I picked this book up because I thought I'd get a nice easy read, something a bit naff, perfect for my current mood.

Instead I got a really good book with really strong characterisation and, consequently, a healthy dose of feminist rage directed at publishers' marketing departments.

That said, there was something a little bit lacking for me. It's the kind of book which leads you along with it, rather than the kind of book which makes you wonder what's going to happen. I also felt a little short-changed by the lack of legal detail - I'm left questioning whether that would be the actual procedure but as I don't know anything about it, I'm probably wrong. I am asking questions, which is a good thing.

It was good and I liked it, but I wasn't terribly compelled to read it though and some of the minor characters, while strongly written, felt a little cliched. So I'm going to give it 3.5 stars, and tell you to ignore that stupid cover.… (más)