Tag Archives: Brighton

#BookReview ‘Here We Are’ by Graham Swift #theatre #Brighton

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What a delightful slim story is Here We Are by Graham Swift. On the surface it’s a simple tale of a summer season at the theatre at the end of Brighton Pier in 1959. It’s a tale about a magician and his assistant. It’s also a tale about perception and delusion, truth and lies, what is real and an illusion. Graham Swift When young magician Ronnie Deane gets a job for a seaside summer season, he advertises for an assistant. Evie White has experience in the chorus line but has never worked for a magician before. They are both on a steep learning curve. Their guide in Brighton is Ronnie’s friend Jack Robbins, compere, listed on the bill as Jack Robinson. ‘Some patter, some gags, some of them smutty, a bit of singing, some dancing, some tapping of his heels.’ As Ronnie and Evie, listed as ‘Pablo & Eve’, perfect their act, work their way up the bill, they go out as a foursome in the evenings with Jack and his latest girl. They change so frequently Evie can’t keep track of their names, instead thinking of them simply as ‘the Floras’.
This is principally Ronnie’s story, how at the age of eight he left his mother and was evacuated to safety in Oxford. There he found a new home, new parents and a magician to share all the secrets and tricks of the trade. By the end of the war, when Ronnie returns home to London and to his mother, he is a man who knows what job he wants to do.
Like all Swift’s stories, this can be read on many levels. At its simplest it is about a love triangle.
Only 208 pages, it is a short novel. The language is beautiful with not an unnecessary word. Not much may happen, but as the events of 1959 unfold Swift tells us the story of Ronnie’s childhood and how it impacts on the man he has become. The lies told to prevent hurt, the lies told for self-protection, lies told for unknown reasons, and some lies which may actually be the truth. As unknowable as Ronnie’s Famous Rainbow Trick. Unpretentious, at its heart lies a mystery that is in itself mysterious.

Here’s my review of Swift’s MOTHERING SUNDAY.

If you like this, try:-
‘A View of the Harbour’ by Elizabeth Taylor
‘The Gustav Sonata’ by Rose Tremain
‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ by Anne Tyler

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#BookReview ‘Dead Simple’ by Peter James @PeterJamesUK #crime #Brighton

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A plot that twists and turns, a dramatic beginning, a likeable detective in Roy Grace and a cleverly-drawn setting. Brighton is full of potential for a crime writer looking for a setting and it is clear Peter James knows and loves the Sussex seaside city. Dead Simple is a page-turner with clever ideas and a couple of twists I didn’t see coming. Peter JamesThe story opens with a stag night which does not go to plan, a missing groom, a car crash, an absent best man and a frantic bride. As the horrible realities of the situation become clear, with no witnesses and no clues, the police struggle to find the missing groom before the wedding on Saturday. But a few things do not ring true and that, coupled with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace’s controversial use of a medium, bring fresh, if confusing, clues.
Peter James has created an authentic police community which feels real from page one, this is not the first in a series where the first novel is about setting the scene and the context. James hits the ground running with a believable detective. Roy Grace is a maverick, and I like him. James spends a day a week with the Sussex Police Force and this experience is evident on every page without shouting ‘research’.
I’ve found a new favourite crime writer. This is a long-running series.

And here’s my review of THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL, also by Peter James.

If you like this, try:-
‘Nightfall’ by Steven Leather #1JACK NIGHTINGALE
‘Unnatural Causes’ by PD James #3ADAMDALGLIESH
‘The Vows of Silence’ by Susan Hill #4SIMONSERRAILLER

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview DEAD SIMPLE by Peter James @PeterJamesUK http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1QB via @SandraDanby