The Beach Café by Lucy Diamond

"You might not ever read this letter - maybe life will take some unexpected twists and turns for us both, and my words will become meaningless. But I'd like to state, here and now, that in the event of my untimely death, I am leaving you the café in my will". 

This looked like the perfect holiday read to me and so when the sun came out, I duly read it. 

The story follows Evie who has followed her heart but is yet to really make anything of her life and is now trapped with sensible Matthew as a boyfriend as well as a job which she hates. Everything changes for her though when her Aunt Jo dies suddenly, leaving her favourite niece, Evie, the beach café in her will. The café was Jo's pride and joy, situated in a little village in Cornwall, directly on the seafront and now it is up to Evie to keep the café going.

Having the café puts a strain on Evie's relationship with Matthew who feels that running and owning a café is not a steady enough job. He urges her to sell it and to return to Oxford in order to begin a teaching degree but all Evie really wants is to run the café and continue its success. I immediately took a dislike to Matthew with his rules because he appeared to be stifling Evie's free soul and stopping her from really living her life.

Lucy Diamond - the author

All is not plain sailing for Evie though in Cornwall and as can be expected she encounters some problems along the way. She hires a mysterious chef called Ed and takes on Phoebe who has run away from home as well as trying to establish herself and the café as the heart of the community.

Lucy Diamond, the author, is no stranger to writing popular women's novels and has recently released a new novel, 'Me and Mr Jones'. After thoroughly enjoying this Diamond novel, I may look for some of her other novels to read in my free time.

This was a really good read with a feel-good factor which had me smiling and in a summery mood until the last page. If you are a fan of romantic novels and are looking for something light to read then I would definitely recommend 'The Beach Café'!

Please leave your comments below and let me know if there are any other good summer novels which you recommend.

...x

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

"For over a year, Edward had been mesmerised by the prospect that on the evening of a given date in July the most sensitive portion of himself would reside, however briefly, within a naturally formed cavity inside this cheerful, pretty, formidably intelligent woman."

The premise of this novel is fairly simple - it follows two people in 1962 on their wedding night which is being spent on Chesil Beach. Although this does not sound particularly riveting, things do not go completely smoothly for the characters which causes intrigue into their motivations.

Florence is a concert violinist and part of an affluent Oxford family whilst Edward is a history enthusiast and from a middle class family. Whilst Florence is somewhat detached from her family, we see Edward as being closer to his family with his father being a headteacher and his mother being brain-damaged.

Ian McEwan - the author

Like other McEwan novels we are able to understand more about the characters through flashbacks, allowing us to see their motivations. This means that much more emphasis is placed on their characters than the actual wedding night with us being able to see their lives before marriage. For Florence this means her career as principal violinist in a quartet with aspirations to play at Wigmore Hall and for Edward this means his family life and enthusiasm for history.

For me the most interesting theme within the novel was that of convention versus individuality. This is seen through the revulsion of Florence to perform her marital duty despite knowing that this is what is expected of her. She is repulsed by the notion of sex but does not tell Edward this because she believes that these feelings undermine her as a woman; however her withholding of information ultimately does more harm than good. This plot only works due to the fact that the story is set in 1962 because at this time people were less likely to engage in sex before marriage and even less likely to discuss sex; therefore Florence feels isolated and the pressure of societal conventions as being upon her.

Until researching McEwan's motivation for the novel I was unaware of the controversy which surrounded it. Apparently McEwan took some stones from Chesil Beach in order to use them as inspiration; however this incurred the wrath of the local people who threatened a £2,000 fine if they were not returned due to the protected nature of the area.

I was not too enamoured with this novel and probably would not recommend it to a friend, despite being able to see its technical merits. I think that the reason for this is because I am not a huge fan of short stories, often finding them too short to have a fully rounded story which captures my imagination. However, what drew me initially to the novel was not its premise but its location because I live close to Chesil Beach and for that reason alone it was of some interest to me.

Please let me know in the comments what you think of this McEwan novel and whether it is just me who isn't a great fan of the 'short story'.

...x

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands. I need to know that these people exist."

This novel has been talked about so much since the recent release of the movie and so I decided to read it. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book as much as the movie; however, it was still a good, quick read which I would recommend.

The whole story is narrated by Charlie, a 15 year old boy who has suffered from schizophrenia and the novel takes the form of a collection of his letters which he has written to an anonymous friend. Charlie feels that no-one in his family understands him and his best friend, Michael, has just shot himself; therefore it is no surprise that he feels isolated at the prospect of starting high school. Throughout the novel though, Charlie manages to experience new things such as trying drugs and alcohol as well as having a girlfriend and performing in the Rocky Horror Show.

The two people who really help Charlie come out of his shell are Sam and Patrick. Sam is the girl who Charlie first kisses and who introduces him to the idea of feeling infinite (she stands at the back of the truck with music playing whilst someone drives through the tunnel), opening him up to a world which is very different from his previous one. Patrick also aids Charlie's transformation and despite being called 'Nothing' by the majority of the school, shows Charlie that happiness is obtainable and that everyone deserves to be accepted (as is shown through his secret gay relationship with Brad).

The Perks of being a Wallflower - film cast

One of the great features of Charlie's letters is a record of the books which his English teacher, Bill, has given him as extension reading. As a result of this American literature features heavily with Charlie mentioning works such as 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'On the Road'. It is not just literature, however, which Charlie talks about but music too with mixtapes often showing his true emotions. The inclusion of popular books, movies and music within these letters both help to show Charlie's personality as well as making the novel feel current.

Stephen Chbosky - the author

As I previously mentioned, this has been made into a popular film featuring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. The plot closely followed that of the novel and this was probably because Chbosky wrote the film screenplay but seeing the characters in the flesh made the action easier to follow, in my view. I found the film more gripping than the novel but I am unsure whether this it just because I am not a great fan of novels written in letter form.


I would recommend either reading the novel or watching the film to people, especially those who are a fan of the 'coming-of-age' genre because it is a simple yet moving novel which should be shared.

Please let me know in the comments whether you feel the same way about the Chbosky novel/film because I would be really interested to hear other people's views.

                                                ...x

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

"Ours was an epic love story, and I won't be able to get more than a sentence into it without disappearing into a puddle of tears". 

I am a massive fan of the Youtuber Tyler Oakley and in one of his videos he mentioned this new John Green novel. He said that it had made him laugh and cry as well as opening his eyes to life; after hearing his recommendation I just had to read it and I am so glad that I did because it was a complete breath of fresh air. 

The plot follows Hazel, a cancer patient, who falls in love with Augustus Waters and their mutual friend, Isaac who loses both his eyes due to cancer. Hazel suffers from cancer of the thyroid which has has spread to her lungs leading her to need oxygen apparatus at all times whilst Augustus has only one leg. They meet through a cancer support group and quickly bond, the only thing stopping them from moving quicker is that Hazel feels that she will soon die and leave Augustus alone.

Hazel and Augustus find a common interest in her favourite book, An Imperial Affliction; however, they are both plagued by the same questions that its unresolved ending brings. An Imperial Affliction finishes halfway through a sentence which implies that the girl writing it has died but the lack of resolution leads Augustus to use his wish from the Genies to go and visit the author, Peter Van Houten, in order to find some answers to the great unanswered issues. The Genies (a fictional equivalent of the 'Make a Wish' foundation) fund Hazel and Augustus' trip to Amsterdam where they are able to meet  Van Houten as well as appreciate the romantic aspects of the city with its blossom everywhere.

The majority of the novel is written from a positive point of view which is refreshing for a novel of this genre. A prime example of this is when Isaac loses his eyes, we are able to see his obvious resentment and despair  but this is cleverly contrasted with the jokes which Augustus and Hazel make of it in order to make him feel better. All is not well though and as can be expected from a novel featuring cancer, one of the characters dies which was heartbreaking. I don't know why but I found reading this much more upsetting than watching 'My Sister's Keeper' and cried like a baby until the end. As a whole, the novel felt like an emotional roller-coaster with moment of pure joy being contrasted with despair, but I guess that this mirrors life with cancer.

John Green - the author

As with any good book, this raised so many questions in my mind and not only about life and death but about the legacy that we leave when we die. One of the characters states that for every living person there are fourteen dead ones and so  if we all remembered fourteen people then everyone would be remembered - unfortunately we are never going to be able to remember everyone who has died but I do hope that I am able to leave a legacy.

It is no surprise to me that 'The Fault in our Stars' rapidly became a bestseller and I would not hesitate in recommending it to those who have not read it. I now plan to look for more John Green novels in the hope that they will be as good as this one. Since reading it, I have researched into the novel and much to my delight I discovered that a film script is currently being written; although I never feel that films truly do books justice, I am still looking forward to its release in the (hopefully) near future.

Please comment and let me know whether you enjoyed this novel as much as I did!

...x

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

"Something odd happened that night at the Usher Hall. I don't think that it was an accident. I really don't."

I've never read any of Alexander McCall Smith's novels before and after reading this I am sorry to say that I probably wouldn't jump at the chance to read another. I was really excited at the chance to read a new detective novel but it was not anywhere near as gripping as an Agatha Christie novel.

Contrary to my original expectations, this is not a plot-driven novel but a character driven novel which meant that the solving of the murder was not the focus of the plot. The protagonist was a Scottish woman by the name of Isabel Dalhousie who works as the editor for the 'Review of Applied Ethics' and as such many of the issues discussed were of a philosophical nature. Despite being mentioned in the title I did not expect the novel to have such a high volume of philosophical content and I found that it distracted from the main plot, making me lose interest.

The sub-plot within this novel revolved around Isabel's niece, Cat, and her love life. This led to two interesting characters, Toby, Cat's current boyfriend who always wears crushed-strawberry trousers, and Jamie, Cat's ex-boyfriend and a great friend of Isabel. Unfortunately this all distracted from the murder to such a degree that I was left confused as to what the real point of the story was.

Alexander McCall Smith - the author

Originally I felt that the action would be fast paced because the murder occurs so close to the beginning of the novel; however, I was wrong because the whole affair felt slow. In the interests of giving every book a fair chance, I was convinced that the denouement would include an interesting twist when the murderer was announced. Although I had not suspected the murderer,  I found the eventual conclusion weak and disappointing. For these reason, I would not choose another of McCall Smith's books in a hurry.

Please comment and let me know whether I am the only one to find this dull and disappointing.

...x