Anna Vaught

“But now, you are not alone, you are no-one’s hysterical showpiece or study—and I promise we’ll discuss further company later; imagination has magic in its heart, don’t you know? And I promise: we tell your story and Lucia writes it down and it is saved so that you have a name and a life.”

This novel is an imagined interaction among four (real) women, two of whom were confined to the same mental institution. It starts with Lady Violet Gibson (who attempted to assassinate Mussolini) and Lucia Joyce (daughter of author James Joyce), portraying them as friends. Lucia begins writing Violet’s story and adds details from her own life. Two other women are introduced later in the narrative – Blanche Wittman (hysteria patients of Jean-Martin Charcot) and Bertha Pappenheim (patient of Josef Breuer whose case was documented as “Anna O” by Sigmund Freud).

The early parts of the book are fairly straightforward, but it gradually becomes fragmented. It contains many literary references, particularly to Joyce and Beckett. It feels like reading a lengthy dream sequence, as the women refashion their histories to what their lives could have been, if they had not been classified as “hystericals.”

It is not a quick or easy read. I prefer more straightforward storytelling, but I appreciated the commentary about issues that women had to face regarding mental health. It will appeal to those who enjoy innovative or experimental writing.… (more)

If you have looked at the news recently you’d realise that we are in a time of political turmoil; Brexit dominates everything in the national conversation, other urgent matters about the climate and the social malaise of the country are falling by the wayside as we get more and more introspective. I am one of those who has taken to skimming the weekend papers and generally avoiding the news as it is just so depressing.

There are others though who see that this time is an opportunity to explore a post-Brexit Britain, and Tempest is a collection of poetry, short stories and articles that contemplate a time after. Some of these stories were from a dystopian and science fiction perspective, which as a fan of that sort of material was good to read.

I really liked some of them, in particular, We should Own the stars, Nature and Culture and The Carp Whisperer. As with any collection like this, there were the odd one or two that didn’t work for me. But then the idea of these collections is to bring your attention to authors who you may not have known about and to hear viewpoints that you wouldn’t normally hear in your regular media consumption. I must say though that the cover is by an artist called Roz Strauss and it is stunning. Solid little collection.… (more)

Almost Llewhellin has had an unusual upbringing on the coast of Wales, being brought up by his sister Perfection. He travels all over the coast and local area, playing in the graveyards, exploring the sea caves and he is intrinsically linked to the landscape where he lives. Rather than other children to play with he knows mermaids and mermen, morticians and his own family's undead. It feels to him like time has stopped, he is stood watching things as they drift on by. Even moving away has no effect, Pembrokeshire has its roots deep inside his soul and he returns once again.

I dreamed of pearls, full fathom five;

I sang of gales, the tang of salt

Almost as a character feels like he is not fully of this world, but rather he inhabits somewhere in between this world and the next as he mixes with mermaids and converses with the dead. This is a strange book in lots of ways, very surreal at times, blended with fantasy, a dash of folklore with hints of The Graveyard Book. It is a lyrical book and I really enjoyed the poetic elements, but personally struggled to engage with the characters at times… (more)