Blog Tour – Yield by @ClaireDyer1 @TwoRiversPress #Yieldpoetry #LGBTQ

My thanks to Anne Nolan at Two Rivers Press for sending me a copy of Yield, a poetry collection, to read and review. This will be my last blog tour for a while and fair to say, a very different one. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s what the collection is about.

The Blurb

Three definitions of the word Yield give meaning to the odyssey undergone in Claire Dyer’s third collection: a journey which sees a son become a daughter, and a mother a poet for both of them. Charting these transitions, the poems take us through territories known and familiar landscapes of childhood, family and home into further regions where inner lives alter, outer ones are reimagined. Whether evoking clinic visits, throwing away old boyhood clothes, grieving over what’s lost, these honest and unashamed poems build to celebrate that place at the heart of motherhood where gender is no differentiator and love the gain.

My Thoughts

I’ve put my ‘thoughts’ rather than ‘review’ for a specific reason. I am not a poet. I have attempted them with little success. I’m still not very sure how I managed to get a good grade in my O-Level English Literature paper (yes, I am that old). I hated analysing every line and word looking for meanings that might not actually be there in the first place. I wanted to enjoy the poem as a whole without thinking about alliteration, line length, syllable count etc. When I was asked to review a collection of poems, I hesitated – am I really qualified to do this? In many ways, no. But as a reader I can appreciate the poems as a whole and so my ‘thoughts’ stem from that.

I listened to a radio interview that Claire Dyer did and for her the word ‘yield’ has three meanings that are then reflected in the collection. Firstly, to bring forth, or more specifically, to give birth or life. Secondly to surrender, give in. Lastly, a gain – not a financial one in this instance but an emotional one. As the above blurb says, Yield charts the journey that Claire travelled with her family when her son announced he was transgender. There’s shock, confusion, anxiety, grief and acceptance. As Claire said in her interview, this collection isn’t a political statement. Instead, it’s deeply personal and she had full permission from her family to publish.

There are so many wonderful poems here, and on second reading, I welled up more than the first time. There are lovely little lines such as ‘Etch A Sketch of shopfronts’ from In this town. More than that there’s the emotion that pours out of each poem – the goblin who comes at night to prey upon fear and anxiety, the memories that surface when emptying a wardrobe of clothes no longer needed and the thick skin that arrives like a parcel in the post.

Although the poems are borne out of one specific situation, many could relate to other issues people are going through. My favourite poem is Some Guidance on Leaving where the author goes down to the river and casts all her pain into it. This is a poem for anyone in a difficult situation. Even though I said how much I disliked English Lit., if I were to choose one poem from this collection to be on a GCSE syllabus, it would be this one. It is so beautiful, full of emotion and meaning and I know it’s one that I’ll return to again and again. 

The final poem, Afterword: Like This, highlights the final meaning of ‘yield’ – emotional gain. I’m not too sure what to write about this poem but there’s a sense of peace after being through such a turbulent time and surprise that peace is there at all. It’s the start of something new that will perhaps bring more joy than had life stayed the same.

So those are my thoughts. Thank you Claire for sharing such a difficult but precious time in your life. It would have been so easy to have kept these poems in a notebook. And to steal a refrain from some of your poems, thank you for being brave, wise and kind.

You can buy Yield here.

 

The Author

Claire Dyer holds a BA in English & History from the University of Birmingham, an MA in Victorian Literature & Culture from the University of Reading and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. She lives in Reading, Berkshire. Yield is her third poetry collection.  

First Monday Crime March Panel with @timglisterbooks @nadinematheson @FemiKay_Author @abigailsdean @LeyeAdenle @1stMondayCrime #RedCorona #TheJigsawMan #Lightseekers #GirlA

Welcome back to First Monday Crime! We took a break over the last couple of months but with spring almost round the corner, it’s time for us to come out of hibernation. And we have the most amazing panel for you. For the first time, all our panellists are debut authors. We’re particularly excited to see new talent emerging at this time. Our panellists are Tim Glister (Red Corona), Nadine Matheson (The Jigsaw Man), Femi Kayode (Lightseekers) and Abigail Dean (Girl A). Leye Adenle is moderating. So please come and join us on Monday 1st March at 7.30pm on our Facebook page where we will be live streaming our event.

To give you a flavour of what to expect I have a review of Red Corona by Tim Glister. Thanks to Margot Weale at OneWorld for a copy of the book. 

The Blurb

It’s 1961 and the white heat of the Space Race is making the Cold War even colder.

Richard Knox is a secret agent in big trouble. He’s been hung out to dry by a traitor in MI5, and the only way to clear his name could destroy him.

Meanwhile in a secret Russian city, brilliant scientist Irina Valera makes a discovery that will change the world, and hand the KGB unimaginable power.

Desperate for a way back into MI5, Knox finds an unlikely ally in Abey Bennett, a CIA recruit who’s determined to prove herself whatever the cost…

As the age of global surveillance dawns, three powers will battle for dominance, and three people will fight to survive…

My Review

I don’t often read spy thrillers but I really enjoyed Red Corona. Set in 1961, things are hotting up in the Cold War and in space. Supremacy in the galactic skies is no longer about scientific research but political power. The world of espionage is more important than ever. But can you really trust the people around you? For Richard Knox (MI5), Abey Bennett (CIA) and Russian scientist, Irina Valera, this is something they’re all about to find out.

Tim Glister skillfully weaves the three threads of the story together until they all culminate at the end. Richard Knox isn’t the typical MI5 recruit. He hasn’t entered the service via the normal route of private school and Oxbridge. Instead he hails from the East End of London. He never really fits in. Abey Bennett also knows what it is to be an outsider. Sick to death of being underestimated by her male colleagues, she takes matters into her hands. Irina Valera is a brilliant scientist who is disillusioned with her Soviet masters. She seizes the chance to change direction in her life but quickly discovers she’s become a pawn, her knowledge valued more than her life. I have to say that Irina’s sections were my favourite parts of the book. She’s a desperate but very clever woman. Her ability to survive kicks in big time.

One thing I particularly liked was the setting of London in the post-war era. London is far from being rebuilt at this moment, especially in the east, and I loved the references to new building projects such as the Barbican. It gives the sense of a country still struggling to recover but recognising that things need to change. In that, it mirrors Knox’s opinion of MI5. The obvious ‘watchers’ who fail to blend in are a sign that the service has to modernise fast if it’s going to keep up with its foreign counterparts.

Overall, this is an intriguing, fast paced, spy thriller that taps in to the paranoia of the Cold War in eloquent fashion. I don’t know what Tim Glister’s plans are but I hope we get to see Richard Knox again.

 

You can buy Red Corona here.

To buy The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson click here. 

To buy Lightseekers by Kemi Kayode click here.

To buy Girl A by Abigail Dean click here.

Or go to uk.bookshop.org to help out independent bookshops or contact your own local bookstore.

 

The Author

Tim Glister is a novelist who wishes he was a spy. His debut thriller, Red Corona, is about three very different people caught up in the birth of the surveillance age during the height of the Cold War.

  

Book Review – Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson @LauraSRobinson @MantleBooks

Happy publication day to Laura Shepherd-Robinson for Daughters of Night. Thanks to Mantle for letting me read an advance copy via NetGalley. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

From the pleasure palaces and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night follows Caroline Corsham as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget . . .

Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’

London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.

But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous, than she can know . . .

My Review

I loved Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s debut Blood & Sugar and Daughters of Night is even better. Laura’s depth of research comes across well and I felt completely submerged into Georgian London. Just thinking about it now I feel myself pulled back into that world. But if you’re expecting a Jane Austen Georgian view, then think again. Yes, we have the aristocracy and the wealthy but we also have the underbelly of London’s streets. There are three main narrators – Caroline Corsham, wife of Harry Corsham from Blood & Sugar; Peregrine ‘Perry’ Child, former magistrate now turned thieftaker; and Pamela, a young maid who wants more out of life so decides to auction her virtue to the highest bidder. Definitely not Jane Austen!

When Caro discovers the body of a young woman, she’s determined to find the murderer. Her husband is away so she hires Perry Child to help her. Sounds simple enough but when it’s revealed that the young woman was a high-class whore and not the lady Caro thought she was, Caro and Perry find themselves plunged into a very sinister world.

There is so much going on in this novel and I genuinely couldn’t work out who was responsible. Just when I thought I knew, there would be another twist. Even Caro has her own secrets to deal with. This book combines, art, Greek philosophy, the aristocracy, war heroes, whores, taverns, jewellers and banks! And that’s just what I remember!

Caro is a wonderful character. Forget the simpering, modest Georgian wife as Caroline Corsham has a mind of her own and is not afraid to use it. I think I actually prefer her to Harry but I’d love to see them team up together in another book.

This is a truly magnificent novel and deserves to do incredibly well. After reading Daughters of Night, I tried to read a contemporary crime novel but I couldn’t settle to it. Instead I’ve started to read The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel and quite honestly, that should tell you something about the calibre of Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s writing. I eagerly anticipate her next book.

You can buy Daughters of Night here.  Or check out uk.bookshop.org or contact your local bookshop.

 

The Author

Laura Shepherd-Robinson was born in Bristol in 1976. She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Laura worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing at City University. She lives in London with her husband, Adrian.