Page 18 - Phonebox Magazine July 2016

Book Review
Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
IDebbie Taylor
have always enjoyed Chris Cleaves’ novels, well written, with great research, well observed characters and always with a great twist in the narrative. His stories
always make you think about your reaction to what is going on in the world around you as the reader as well as the characters in the novel. ‘Incendiary’ was about a mother who lost her son to a terrorist attack, ‘Gold’ was about three cyclists getting ready for the London Olympics. This book is a little different as Cleave takes events from the past and plants his characters very rmly in this world, rather than the other books which are more about the present day.
The novel is set against the early years of the Second World War in London, then moving to Malta during the blockade of the island. London is described as a vibrant, busy city all the way through the novel, but with huge differences between the classes and the impact that war has on them. We see most of this through the eyes of Mary, who becomes
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A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming
AThelma Shacklady
Foreign Country is Charles Cumming’s most recent novel awarded the CWA Steel Dagger for best thriller and Scottish
Crime Book of the Year, as well as being named as Thriller of the Year by the Sunday Express, Sunday Times and Guardian. Its title comes from a novel by L. P. Hartley: ‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’
Appropriately, therefore, it begins in 1978, when an au pair vanishes without a trace, and a call from her friend reassures the husband, Jean-Marc, that she has left of her own free will and will not be coming back. This acts as preface to the novel which continues in the present day, rst with the murder of an older Parisian couple on holiday in Egypt, followed by the kidnapping of a young man known
18 Phonebox Magazine | July 2016
a teacher almost by accident. She sets up a school for those children who were either left behind or return after the mass evacuation of children at the beginning of the war. The children are either disabled in some way or black. Ideas about race and class are discussed throughout the novel without it becoming the main drive of the narrative. The other character who is used to show the effects of war is Alistair Heath who signs up almost as war is declared. His time in the army is described vividly, through his initial training and to Malta, where he is based throughout most of the blockade. Cleave describes the physical results of war vividly, he also tries to show some of the mental anguish that the soldiers endured, without the psychological help that soldiers get in the present day. The twists and turns come thick and fast throughout the book and make for a well paced novel that kept my interest throughout. Some of the plot lines will break your heart and some will make you feel proud of these characters.
The book is dedicated to the memory of Chris Cleaves grandparents who all fought in the war, which is why the characters are warm and brave and well written, I was particularly impressed with the character of Mary, who is a great female protagonist, for a man to have written this character, is praise indeed. Overall, I think this is a great novel and would heartily recommend it.
only as HOLST and the disappearance of the newly-appointed Chief of British Intelligence, just six weeks before she is due to take up her post.
The last of these mysteries is solved by former agent Thomas Kell, brought in by a former colleague, to work unofficially in order to keep the Chief’s disappearance a secret from those who would delight in taking advantage of this potential embarrassment. Travelling to France, from where her last message was received, he tracks her down, despite attacks made by foreign intelligence services, and in doing so discovers a more sinister plot involving kidnap and murder.
The writer displays great skill in holding the reader’s attention throughout, with the complicated twists and turns of a good spy story combined with character development
and the anomaly of an ex-agent being used to save face for the intelligence service which forced him into premature retirement. This is a good holiday read which holds the interest from beginning to end.