Holiday Reading Part Three - Lisa Jewell
Whenever I tell people about my ambitions to write fiction, I am invariably asked the question "So what sort of books do you want to write then?” It's a question I have struggled to answer - maybe because I've never been really sure myself. So I've just replied with "lad lit".
Since my holiday last October however, I think I've figured out exactly what it is I want to achieve, what I really aspire to, and it's one hell of an ambition: I want to be the male Lisa Jewell.
Why is this? Well, having read Lisa Jewell's latest novel, Vince and Joy, during my holiday last October, I have come to realise that her books are nothing other than a master class in story telling.
In my opinion, there are three main elements to this: firstly, she creates realistic characters that you really identify with and root for. Secondly, she throws in so many plot twists you never really know how the story is going to unfold. Thirdly, and most importantly, she has a knack of making the reader want to keep turning the page. More than that: she leaves the reader wishing there were more pages to turn once the story is over.
I can't remember how or when I first discovered Lisa Jewell's work. I do know that I started with her first book, Ralph's Party. I loved it. It deals with the inter-crossing lives of the six residents of 31 Almanac Road. Ultimately, it's a love story between two of the main protagonists, as you will discover.
Lisa writes with enormous pathos and emotion, and the dialogue is fantastic. For me the scene in Ralph's Party that sticks most in my memory is Karl's emotional outpouring during his radio show. I won't give away any more than that, but I think there was a lot in that scene that many of us will identify with.
I actually own two copies of Ralph's Party. I made the mistake of lending my first copy to someone who never gave it back, and was so keen to read it a second time I bought another copy. I don't think I've ever bought the same book twice.
Thirtynothing was the next offering from Lisa Jewell that I duly snapped up having loved Ralph's Party. It is about two friends, Digby and Nadine, who have been best friends from school, but whose latent adoration for each other has never been fully requited. There were twists and turns along the way, and the ending, whilst slightly predictable, was one of the most touching I can ever recall reading.
Lisa's most underrated novel, to my mind, is One Hit Wonder. I remember vividly reading it in a restaurant in Gouves in 2002. I was gripped in a way I don't think I had been by a book for many years, if ever. So much so, I read over 200 pages in one sitting - normally I only read 40-50 pages in one go at the most.
One Hit Wonder is a wonderful journey of self-discovery. The main protagonist, Anna, travels to London to try to find out why her long-lost sister, Bea, had recently committed suicide, and on the way discovers her true self.
Now a story about loss and bereavement may not sound too jolly, but I think this novel showed Lisa Jewell's true strength as a writer. Her previous books had been largely romantic and humorous; One Hit Wonder had these elements too, but it was also a very sad, and in places, shocking read.
That is what I mean when I say I would like to be the male Lisa Jewell - I would like that sort of variety in my work.
I'm not sure I really understood A Friend Of The Family. Maybe I was looking forward to it so much the anticipation got the better of me. I liked the family Lisa created; I just didn't feel that the eponymous character was fully explained. Maybe I missed something, I don’t know. I lent it to some friends who loved it so maybe that was the case.
Vince and Joy, on the other hand, was anything but a disappointment and along with Mike Gayle's Brand New Friend, made my holiday. This may seem a churlish thing for an aspiring writer to say about an established, best-selling author, but Lisa's writing style seems to have matured since I last read one of her books. The descriptions just seemed much more vivid, and her use of vocabulary was quite beautiful.
No time for looking up any words I didn't know or highlighting any passages of text I particularly liked however (such are the activities of an aspiring writer, and yes the fun does go out of reading at times) - I was instantly hooked. This is a love story at its purest, a tale of two people who meet and fall in love at a very young age, only to be torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Years pass, and it seems they are destined never to meet again. Fate, as well as a cat, ultimately has other ideas.
As always, Lisa creates realistic characters - it may be a long time since I was 17 but I immediately identified with the young Vince - shy and self conscious - and the gauche but beautiful Joy with whom he falls in love while on holiday.
We follow their respective plights as they grow older, and as I have come to expect from Lisa Jewell, there are plot twists that I could never have predicted. The revelation about Joy's father, for example, throws in an element of sadness, but makes the story stronger for it.
Some might say this is hardly an original theme and the ending is ultimately predictable. To me it doesn't matter. (If anything, I think the ending leaves the story nicely poised for a sequel). Lisa Jewell makes sure you keep turning the page - again, I read hundreds of pages in one session, oblivious to anything else. And, as the comments on her website will bear witness, she gives her readers plenty of enjoyment and leaves them longing for more.
Ultimately that's all any writer can hope to do.
http://www.lisa-jewell.co.uk/
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon January 2006
Since my holiday last October however, I think I've figured out exactly what it is I want to achieve, what I really aspire to, and it's one hell of an ambition: I want to be the male Lisa Jewell.
Why is this? Well, having read Lisa Jewell's latest novel, Vince and Joy, during my holiday last October, I have come to realise that her books are nothing other than a master class in story telling.
In my opinion, there are three main elements to this: firstly, she creates realistic characters that you really identify with and root for. Secondly, she throws in so many plot twists you never really know how the story is going to unfold. Thirdly, and most importantly, she has a knack of making the reader want to keep turning the page. More than that: she leaves the reader wishing there were more pages to turn once the story is over.
I can't remember how or when I first discovered Lisa Jewell's work. I do know that I started with her first book, Ralph's Party. I loved it. It deals with the inter-crossing lives of the six residents of 31 Almanac Road. Ultimately, it's a love story between two of the main protagonists, as you will discover.
Lisa writes with enormous pathos and emotion, and the dialogue is fantastic. For me the scene in Ralph's Party that sticks most in my memory is Karl's emotional outpouring during his radio show. I won't give away any more than that, but I think there was a lot in that scene that many of us will identify with.
I actually own two copies of Ralph's Party. I made the mistake of lending my first copy to someone who never gave it back, and was so keen to read it a second time I bought another copy. I don't think I've ever bought the same book twice.
Thirtynothing was the next offering from Lisa Jewell that I duly snapped up having loved Ralph's Party. It is about two friends, Digby and Nadine, who have been best friends from school, but whose latent adoration for each other has never been fully requited. There were twists and turns along the way, and the ending, whilst slightly predictable, was one of the most touching I can ever recall reading.
Lisa's most underrated novel, to my mind, is One Hit Wonder. I remember vividly reading it in a restaurant in Gouves in 2002. I was gripped in a way I don't think I had been by a book for many years, if ever. So much so, I read over 200 pages in one sitting - normally I only read 40-50 pages in one go at the most.
One Hit Wonder is a wonderful journey of self-discovery. The main protagonist, Anna, travels to London to try to find out why her long-lost sister, Bea, had recently committed suicide, and on the way discovers her true self.
Now a story about loss and bereavement may not sound too jolly, but I think this novel showed Lisa Jewell's true strength as a writer. Her previous books had been largely romantic and humorous; One Hit Wonder had these elements too, but it was also a very sad, and in places, shocking read.
That is what I mean when I say I would like to be the male Lisa Jewell - I would like that sort of variety in my work.
I'm not sure I really understood A Friend Of The Family. Maybe I was looking forward to it so much the anticipation got the better of me. I liked the family Lisa created; I just didn't feel that the eponymous character was fully explained. Maybe I missed something, I don’t know. I lent it to some friends who loved it so maybe that was the case.
Vince and Joy, on the other hand, was anything but a disappointment and along with Mike Gayle's Brand New Friend, made my holiday. This may seem a churlish thing for an aspiring writer to say about an established, best-selling author, but Lisa's writing style seems to have matured since I last read one of her books. The descriptions just seemed much more vivid, and her use of vocabulary was quite beautiful.
No time for looking up any words I didn't know or highlighting any passages of text I particularly liked however (such are the activities of an aspiring writer, and yes the fun does go out of reading at times) - I was instantly hooked. This is a love story at its purest, a tale of two people who meet and fall in love at a very young age, only to be torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Years pass, and it seems they are destined never to meet again. Fate, as well as a cat, ultimately has other ideas.
As always, Lisa creates realistic characters - it may be a long time since I was 17 but I immediately identified with the young Vince - shy and self conscious - and the gauche but beautiful Joy with whom he falls in love while on holiday.
We follow their respective plights as they grow older, and as I have come to expect from Lisa Jewell, there are plot twists that I could never have predicted. The revelation about Joy's father, for example, throws in an element of sadness, but makes the story stronger for it.
Some might say this is hardly an original theme and the ending is ultimately predictable. To me it doesn't matter. (If anything, I think the ending leaves the story nicely poised for a sequel). Lisa Jewell makes sure you keep turning the page - again, I read hundreds of pages in one session, oblivious to anything else. And, as the comments on her website will bear witness, she gives her readers plenty of enjoyment and leaves them longing for more.
Ultimately that's all any writer can hope to do.
http://www.lisa-jewell.co.uk/
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon January 2006
posted by Jon | 9:27 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home