Review: The Mystery of Mercy Close

Marian Keyes is really wonderful. Through four other books and over 17 years, she has slowly created Helen Walsh, the protagonist at the heart of her latest book The Mystery of Mercy Close.
  
Helen is first introduced at the start of Keyes' novel-writing career when she appeared as the stroppy, selfish youngest sister in Watermelon. Now the baby in that book is the terrifying, stroppy teenager and Helen is an adult, hit hard by the recession and battling depression.

At times, the Walsh sisters seem to undergo personality transplants as they step up for their turn in the spotlight.  I get that there's a difference between how one is perceived, and how they perceive themselves (or indeed, how they actually are).  But here, Keyes not only nails the core of the Helen that she crafted over the years, she gives depth to our assumptions and expectations.

For example, Helen has always had this deliciously hilarious and enviable ability to speak her mind, charging through life at her own beat.  But in a quietly vulnerable moment in Mercy Close, she reveals that she struggles to get along with people, that she's hard to like and has no friends.

Of course the most striking accomplishment is Keyes' honest and matter-of-fact portrayal of a person who is not only depressed, but suicidal.   As a society we may be increasingly open-minded and knowledgeable, but it is still easy and common to misunderstand depression.

We are in Helen's head, so we follow her train of thought from sex to suicide, from hating a 13 year old boy to the psychiatric hospital.  At times it's hard to comprehend that Helen is functional and going about her day while contemplating killing herself later.  It's scary because it isn't dramatic,  it's subtle and desperate.  Helen is never a victim, she doesn't want pity, nor is she in denial.  Although she does all the right things, she seems to be walking on a tightrope the entire time.

BUT (and this might sound a wee bit crazy) this was a very fun and funny book.  Fans of Marian Keyes will know that she doesn't leave you in the dark for long.  There is a moment in the book which simultaneously had me giggling and sobbing, and that's the reason I love her books.  They are comforting because they provide a level of escapism, but escapism can be boring after a while, it's just a fairy tale.  Keyes does issues, she does the heavy thematic woes but she lets you bask in moments of joy, and she finds humour and hope in the darkest situations.

While the heart of this book is all in the characters, the titular Mystery is fine, perfectly suited and used to propel the story forward while Keyes masterfully weaves together the really meaty parts of her book.

I also have to give special kudos to her depiction of her boy band Laddz.  Boy bands make their fame on being young and cute, singing corny pop songs and doing cheesy dance moves.  But boys grow into men, and what is once cute, indeed becomes more then a little demeaning.  She perfectly captures the celebrity, the mortification and the waves of nostalgia that people feel for the likes of the Backstreet Boys, 5ive, the Spice Girls.

This is a great book, and a great example of why the term "Chick-Lit" is a terrible crime against fiction, and while I believe that term shouldn't be used at all, Marian Keyes' books certainly don't belong in that category so don't let the stigma put you off.

Favourite Books of 2012

2012 is the year I rediscovered my love of reading, I can't remember ever being this spoilt for choice, a pile of books sits high by my bed, the body count on my bookshelf of half-read and unread books is becoming embarrassing and I'm surrounded by lists of books I should read, need to read, want to read.

Most of my favourite books of this year crawled into my psyche and refused to leave, they were not necessarily the ones that I finished the fastest, but the ones that lingered longest.  

All are books I read for the first time in 2012. 

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

I wasn't going to make a ranked list, but my absolute favourite book of 2012 is The Remains of the Day, a book that came out over 20 years ago.  Ishiguro's simple style elegantly brings to life the desperation of a man who is increasingly displaced in a world that is rapidly changing.  It is sad and moving as it dips back and forth between the present - a motoring trip through the English countryside - and the past, where important men gathered in rooms to determine the future, where codes of etiquette were strictly adhered to, when a butler fell in love but chose to keep his sense of world order.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Potentially  Officially the last book I managed to finish in 2012, Code Name Verity has the unfair advantage of being extremely fresh in my head.  It is the story of Maddie and "Verity", a war time pilot and her best friend, a spy.  I approached this book with so much skepticism I should have just put it straight back in the 'return' slot at the library.  But within the first few pages, Maddie and Verity came to life, and it became apparent that more then anything this was a story about a beautiful, loyal, loving friendship between two young women.  Of course, add to that the mystery (or should that be secrets?), the intensive plot and the danger lurking on the corner of every page and this book is unstoppable.  

Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta 

No one and I mean no one can make me cry like Melina Marchetta. I can't read her books in public because it isn't a single-tear kind of cry, it's full on bawling.  The final chapter of her trilogy The Lumatere Chronicles takes unexpected paths to an inevitable ending, and manages to constantly surprise me.  Fans of Marchetta's work will be split on their favourite heroine but mine is unquestionably Quintana herself, misunderstood, unloved, feral and just a bit crazy, she is also loyal, loving and unshakable in her determination to save her people and her kingdom.  Marchetta's skill at crafting even the most minor characters into fully realized, multidimensional people gives the book weight, and the quick, complicated plot keeps the book moving.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

I tried to approach this book with as few expectations as possible, but in the end that was a largely pointless exercise.  For all my apprehension and forced neutrality, it turned out that J.K. Rowling writing for adults was exactly what I expected (and hoped) it would be. The Casual Vacancy was rooted deep in issues that I (humbly) assume are near and dear to Rowling, exploring social inequality, prejudice, racism, sexism, child abuse, drug abuse, domestic abuse, political machinations and more.  I know a lot of people complained that there were no likable characters, but I loved that most characters were redeemable.  Rowling delved into the darker parts of the human soul and mined it for both humour and pain.  I sincerely hope this is the first of many adult books that Rowling writes.

Honourable Mentions (yes my best of list is 4 books long, I'm a minimalist)

No the truth is there were a whole host of books in the second tier and I didn't want to spend all day writing about them, nor did I want to feel guilty for leaving anything out.  Here is the list of other books that I liked this year:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes
The Giver by Lois Lowry

There are probably others but it's been a long year, leap year and all.

I also need to sneak in a final mention for the graphic novels I read this year: The Watchmen, Akira and Cross Game, all at the recommendation of my brother and all are completed works.  They shook up my perspective and challenged my preset idea of what I like to read. 

December Nostalgia: Book Love & Recommendations

December is a month I get completely bogged down in nostalgia, usually starting with a December 1^st dive into my box of old letters and postcards.  One particular letter from an old best friend reappeared two years ago at a time when I really needed to find it.

On the last page was this incredible excerpt: 

I love everything about this, but most of all I love that it's physical proof of my first book buddy, I love that it's a sign of how many of my best friendships would be built, through love of books and reading.  I love that 12 years ago this is how a book recommendation was passed on to me, through accidental discovery of a book and then communication in a letter.

These days it's a google of the author, a casually dropped text or throwaway line in an email; it's a book title caught on twitter or picked up from a "best of" list online. It would be impossible to be properly surprised by the existence of a sequel/prequel/new work.

All the technological advances are great, but part of me yearns for this slow moving search and selection, the thoughtfulness and care of old school correspondence.