The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons

Solomon’s writes her story of life, loss, love and beauty with heartbreaking precision. A truly moving tale.

When war begins to threaten in Nazi occupied Vienna the safety of Jewish people everywhere is compromised. Now Elise Landau and her family must find a way to survive. Born to an affluent Jewish family in Vienna, Elise has only ever known a life of luxury and decadence. Her mother and sister both glamorous Opera singers, her father a successful novelist. Elise has never worked, indeed she has being nurtured by her indulgent family and privileged upbringing. How will she cope then, when her life is tipped upside down? when her beloved family secure visa’s to America but cannot gain the same safety for her?

Upon her families insistence Elise places a small advertisement in a newspaper, seeking work in England as a housemaid, with a family, her parents insist, that will keep her safe until they themselves can arrange her visa. Solomon’s captures perfectly Elise’s innocence in the opening scenes of the book. She explores her inability to understand the severity of this situation, the danger that her life is in.

 It is with great reluctance that Elise savours the last few precious hours with her family, on the eve of the day she must depart for the mysterious and ominous England. From within the first enticing pages of the novel a tone of survival and loss is set.

As a final parting gift to his daughter, Elise’s father bestow’s her with a small, cherished family viola. Inside the viola, he tells her, are all the stuffed pages of his latest novel. Elise is charged with the safe keeping and responsibility of this precious object, which is also her last life line and connection to her family. A spark of mystery is ignited within her and stays ablaze as the novel wears on and her connection to home fades.

After leaving Vienna and passing through the mystifying, smoggy London, Elise finds herself a million miles from home in Tyneford where she is now to serve the Rivers family and Tyneford House. Elise must hide away her glamorous pearls and beautiful ball gowns and instead learn the subtle art of house keeping; she must remain unseen and un heard, waiting upon her English contemporaries as she was once waited upon herself. But Elise is no wall flower or a push over and as she adapts to lonely nights spent in her attic room, weak from the exhaustion of physical servitude, she also becomes a strong, resilient and determined young girl.

Elise’s journey throughout the novel and the insight we gain into her transformation from a slightly spoilt and pampered young lady to someone who utilises her gumption and bravado in order to survive is one that is intimate and endearing. Solomon’s deftly describes the experiences both past and present that help to shape Elise in to a girl who is caring, brave, incredibly daring, and a person who refuses to be cast into to Tynefords shadows.

Her behaviour causes a stir and ripple of scandal on more than one occasion and It isn’t long before she catches the eye of more than one gentleman. Heartbreak, scandalous gossip and excitement begin to ripple through Tyneford house.

If Elise is a huge part of the novel then so is Tyneford and Tyneford House. Solomon’s goes to great but rewarding pains to describe in vivid detail the beauty, smells, feels and sights of Tyneford. From the beach to the woods to the house itself Solomon’s ensure’s with carefully detailed writing and powerful imagery that the reader becomes as much immersed in Tyneford as in any of the novels characters.

Indeed even Elise who is so far from the comforts of her home land, becomes enthralled by the splendour of this new place, and whilst her heart longs for her mother, father, and sister, another part of her opens up to the beauty and force of Tyneford.

Elise must come to learn that whilst a place in heart will always remain tenderly and painfully open for her estranged family, another part of her must open up to the possibility of new love and new ties. Elise learns that we can love more than one person and be more than just one person.

This is a book that already seems to have caused a huge stir amongst book lovers with readers everywhere singing its praises, and it’s easy to see why. This story posses everything that a good story needs, well thought and detailed characters, a plot line that is so packed with emotion and drama that it can leave you breathless, and an insight into human suffering and pain that is so empathetic and accurate that it is hard not to become swept away in the emotion of this book.

Richard and Judy nominated this book as one of their summer reads and it’s easy to see why. Have you read this book? If so did you love it as much as everyone else seems to have done? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

7.5/10

Grace William’s says it Loud by Emma Henderson

A stunning debut written with real heart and incredible originality.

This is the book I’ve been most keen to read so far in 2011…in fact it’s probably one of the books I’ve been most excited to read in a long time. When I first read the synopsis I was instantly intrigued, it sounded so original and appealing, I wasn’t wrong.

The story opens in 1947 when Grace is only 8 months old. She’s in a country garden with her mother, father, sister, and brother. The setting of the scene may seem idyllic but without any hesitation Emma Henderson throws the reader into Grace’s world and her life as a physically handicapped young girl. Only a few paragraphs in and Grace is telling her audience about a recent medial experiment where her lolling, problematic tongue is clipped. Grace tells us this in the same frank tone that is used throughout the book and the effects of this style never failed to tug at my emotions.

In 1951 the family move to London and Grace begins telling us more about her beloved mother for whom she shares a richly complex and heartbreaking relationship. She tells us about the trips her and mother take into town together when mother is feeling ‘brave’. It’s here that we start to learn in more the depth the physical deformities Grace suffers. These are touching scenes full of tenderness but also tinged with sadness.

We learn that Grace can’t talk very well; she has been diagnosed mentally defective  and after suffering from polio she loses the use of one arm and one leg grows longer than the other.

Skip forward a little and Grace’s health takes a turn for the worse after a worrying fit, she’s taken to hospital and thus the decision is made that Grace must now reside at the Briar, a hospital for disabled and mentally ‘deficent’ individuals.

And so begins Grace’s life at the Briar. A place sometimes filled with happy memories, like hiding in the apple shed with her best friend Daniel or having afternoon tea with the lovely but eccentric Miss Lilly. And holiday’s to beach towns with volunteers like Major Simpson. These are touching and meaningful moments that keep the novel buoyant with glimpses of joy and save  it from becoming murky with too much gloom.

However there are also moments of extreme suffering and pain for Grace at the Briar and these were some of the most daring and devastating moments of the book. Henderson touches on themes that I’ve never found portrayed in any book before and I found myself blown away by the content. The book was also highly thought provoking and I know that’s a phrase often banded around but really I began to question everything I’d ever though about mental and physical health problems.

Grace is treated with animosity and often disgust by some of the Dr’s and nurses of the hospital. These moments are often heart rendering and even at times a little hard to digest. But these are frank, honest moments and if the reader feels uncomfortable one can only imagine how Grace must feel.

I don’t want to give too much away about all that happens at the Briar but I will say a little of the heart warming relationship between Daniel and Grace. Daniel is an epileptic and has no arms after an accident. He is intelligent, charming and above enthralled like the reader by Grace. Daniel idolises his ‘debonair’ father, almost mimicking him through his own behaviour.

Between them they overcome their physical and mental short comings. Learning to cuddle and caress with Grace’s one good arm and without the aid of either of Daniels. Perhaps because of this their relationship seems all the more intimate. Both Grace and Daniel look out for each other and their relationship grows and strengthens. But the question is always there, can they, with their very vague futures, every have a happy ever after?

The relationship between Grace and her family is probably one of the most compelling and complex, throwing many questions into the equation. Grace’s mother is tender and caring, clearly a wonderful mother but how should she act now that she has a child with aliments that such little is known about? Nobody has the right answers and everyone is trying to make the right decision.

As a reader we are left wondering what is right. What is the best for Grace? Emma Henderson never imposes heavy opinions or chastises the way in which Grace is treated. Her writing seems to understand that in a time when so little was known about such problems it was never as simple as pointing the blame. There are characters that show extreme kindness and some awful cruelty, but nothing is black and white in Grace’s world.

I won’t say too much about how it all pans out least I should ruin it for you. I will say this though; Grace William’s is throughout charming and extraordinary. Her imagination and prose are beautiful and original, her take on life fresh and innovative. She perceives the world around her with empathy, understanding and a depth that no one thinks her capable of.

Despite struggling with speech Grace Williams certainly does say it loud.

Have you read this book? Or are you interested in reading it? What do you think about it making the short list for the Orange Prize?

9/10