Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Novelicious Natters – The Great Divide

I always remember a History class I had at school because the teacher's response to my comment was so shocking, it rooted itself in my memory forevermore. We had been discussing Queen Elizabeth I and why it was so difficult for her to get any laws passed. I suggested it was because she was a woman and therefore nobody paid her any attention – which, given the era we were discussing, seemed a valid answer. The response? ‘Quite the little feminist aren’t you?’ From a female teacher no less.

Novelicious Goes To... The Launch of Victoria Fox's Wicked Ambition

Last night I was at the delightfully naughty launch of Victoria Fox's new bonkbuster Wicked Ambition, where her brilliant books with their gorgeous tropical covers seemed to fit in perfectly with the Wahaca surroundings.

There were cocktails and delicious canapes (even for a fussy veggie like me!) but most of all there was fun chat with the lovely PR team, the delightful editors and, of course, the author herself - who was so tall I didn't even have to crouch for the photo!

We love a girly read here at Novelicious but get me in a room full of fellow book-lovers and the excitement levels (and noise levels!) are sure to rise pretty quickly.

I also managed to bag myself a signed copy too! (And a few more for you lovely Novelicious readers - watch this space) Now if only I could find a beach to read it on...

Thanks to the Mira team and Victoria for the great welcome!

MORE ABOUT WICKED AMBITION

L-R Novelicious' Amanda Keats, Victoria Fox and agent Maddy Milburn

June's Literary Adaptations

This month's adaptations are a mixture of superhero, super-playwright and super zombies with adaptations coming from a novel, play and comic book. So whatever takes your fancy, here is the pick of what to look out for this June.

Friday 14th

One of Shakespeare's most hilarious, dramatic and romantic plays gets a modern retelling at the hands of Joss Whedon (Buffy, Avengers Assemble). Much ado About Nothing has been studied and viewed in so many forms, it's a wonder there are still new ways to tell this story but the themes of love, cynicism, loyalty and manipulation still apply and with a noir feel, this film looks to be one to watch.

Check out the trailer here.

Women’s Prize for Fiction: Who Novelicious is Backing!

All the shortlisted titles for the Women’s Prize for Fiction have now been reviewed here at Novelicious and with the winner set to be announced tomorrow (Wednesday 5^th June), we look at what the team made of those six books vying for the big win.

Sadly, it didn’t look good for Zadie Smith’s NW, a muddled story that lacked conclusion according to our review. Jennifer explained, ‘There didn’t seem to be much point to the story as a whole, as though we were seeing a short glimpse into three individual’s lives but without any real purpose.’

The book many may feel is odds on to take the crown (no pun intended) is Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel – a woman who can do no wrong this year it seems (unless she’s talking about our princess that is!). With a decent 7/10 rating, our Debs said ‘it held fewer surprises or intrigue for me. However, the writing is undoubtedly superb’.

Novelicious Natters – Judge a book by its cover

The saying goes that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It's what's on the inside that counts, right? Of course, when it comes to actual books, the cover is the first impression - the difference between you oozing charm and charisma that lures people over to talk to you or the sneeze in the drink and glass-shattering laugh that makes people run for the hills. The book cover is what makes you stop browsing in a bookshop and pick a book up.

The Great Gatsby: Book vs Film

Adapting a book like The Great Gatsby into a film is both an incredibly difficult challenge and ridiculously easy. On the one hand, the novel, written by F Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925, is one of the most beloved and well-known novels of the 20th century. People across the world have an idea in their heads of what Jay Gatsby should look like, what his house should look like, what his parties were really like. If you get it wrong, people will notice and tear the film to shreds. That said, The Great Gatsby is one of the few novels which truly lends itself to being adapted. Firstly, the novel itself is actually quite short, so a lot of what is written about in the book could – hypothetically – be left in. Nothing need be cut dramatically or altered. Secondly, the novel is unbelievably light on dialogue.

So much of what made Fitzgerald's novel so popular revolved around his exquisite prose, the innate detail in his descriptions of locations, outfits, mannerisms, people and all the little nuances of 1920s New York. It is all wealth and appearances but much of this is explained to the reader through the narrative rather than shown through dialogue and action. A young man is lured to New York to make his fortune and moves in next to the elusive Mr Gatsby, who he later learns has already been acquainted with his cousin Daisy before she married Tom Buchanan. For a story that revolves around Gatsby, it is worth noting that the man himself does not actually appear until chapter three, only adding, of course, to the intrigue behind his character.

Review - Laura Lamont's Life In Pictures by Emma Straub

Reviewed by Amanda Keats

For Elsa Emerson, acting has always been in her family. Growing up in Door County, Wisconsin, Elsa first gets the acting bug when asked to play a small role for one of the shows currently showing at her family-run playhouse. So when an ambitious young actor asks her to marry him a few years later, she jumps at the chance of a life in Hollywood. When one of the bigshot producers sees her and gives her a new name – Laura Lamont – she finally manages to become the Hollywood actress she always wished she could be.

Laura Lamont's Life In Pictures is a spellbinding tale of Hollywood glamour but it is more about two women: the sweet, young dreamer, Elsa, and the confident, beloved and successful, Laura. It is this central woman, and the two sides to her life, which makes the story quite so compelling. As she becomes a massively successful actress, finds love and has children, Laura leaves Elsa behind almost entirely. Of course, she can never fully leave behind the first seventeen years of her life; her parents and sister are back home in Wisconsin and the plays that the family put on in the Cherry County Playhouse are what began her love of acting. In reality, Laura discovers, Hollywood is not just a few states away from Wisconsin; it is another world entirely.

As a writer, Straub clearly has no qualms in revealing both the highs and lows of the life of a celebrity and follows Laura at her most blissfully happy and at the very depths of her depression. Success, too, is rarely consistent and the reader is given a glimpse at life in Hollywood and life in the public eye. As Laura gets older, the jobs become fewer and more far between and as events transpire over which she has no control, Laura finds herself playing the part not just for work but all the time – as she is pulled between the many sides of her own personality which she has created.

Novelicious Natters – Sun, Sea and the Perfect Summer Read

The perfect holiday read is so important to book-lovers that publishers actually use it as a marketing tool. They understand the value of the last minute airport purchase and the novel that can be dubbed the perfect escapist read to take along to the beach. The front cover is often drenched in sunshine, sea and sand and promises fun, intrigue, romance and heat! Though some take place across the UK coastline, many of our favourite summer novels take place on foreign shores, under a burning sun and with the added excitement of new languages, food and customs.

May's Literary Adaptations

There's one major adaptation out this month but that doesn’t mean there’s only one film out worth seeing. From old school glamour to modern-day heartbreaking drama, there is something for all tastes this May. I'm so excited – it's going to be epic!

Friday 10th

Based on true events, Our Children is a heartbreaking tale of young love gone wrong. As a young couple get married and start having children, the mother is left to cope with the stresses of motherhood without any help and the pressures forced on her lead to her gradual descent into depression. A powerful and affecting film about what can happen when women have nobody to turn to.

Thursday 16th

The long-awaited Baz Luhrmann adaptation of The Great Gatsby finally arrives in cinemas this month. The man who brought us Moulin Rouge! and Romeo & Juliet returns to his vivacious and dramatic best with this adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel about America in the early 1900s. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Gatsby with support from Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Tobey Maguire. Flapper dresses at the ready, ladies!

Novelicious Natters – Why Do Men Run the World (of Fiction!)?

In many ways, women have come a long way since the days when female authors published their books under male pseudonyms because nobody would publish a book written by a woman. However, if the results of the recent Vida survey are anything to go by, we certainly still have a further way to go.

According to the survey, male authors and reviewers make up a massive portion of those writing across the world in numerous publications including The New York Review of Books and Harper's. It seems, too, that little has changed in recent years. But why are male authors, writers and reviewers given so much more coverage than female ones?

Review - The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Reviewed by Amanda Keats

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson may be a mouthful of a title but the book itself is far easier to digest. Beginning with the moment Allan Karlsson decides to take his old bones away from the old people's home in which he resides, this book takes the reader on an adventure of massive proportions, both in the present day and in the past.

As the book progresses, the reader is taken in two directions. Firstly, there is the adventure Allan is having as a result of his brave escape attempt – one that involves criminals, theft and the introduction of some brilliant new characters. Secondly, and arguably more importantly, there is the adventure of Allan Karlsson's life to date. Allan just so happens to have been not just present but involved with many of the key historical events from the twentieth century, whether it be the rise of Franco in Spain, the building of the atomic bomb or the Cold War. The story is written with such a dry, matter-of-fact humour that even when Allan is embroiled in some of our darkest historical events, there is humour to be found.

This book is a rarity in that the urge to get to the final page and find out what happens is not really there. However, this is not due to boredom or disinterest in the novel itself. There are so many stories within the book it is as though you are reading a gorgeous collection of short stories – in which you can easily dip in and out. The characters Allan meets along the way (some fictional, some not) are beautifully written but it is Allan Karlsson himself that carries the whole story and rightly so. He is a fascinating character, unaffected by lust or politics, brutally honest and endearing despite his self-serving nature. Quite simply, Allan goes where life takes him.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is a delight but don’t feel the need to rush through it. Take your time and savour every page of this incredible story. It is immensely fun, enjoyable, action-packed and totally adorable. You might even learn something too!

9/10

Jonas Jonasson's Website

Novelicious Natters - Chick Lit Readers are Stupid

Love reading chick lit? You must be stupid then. No intelligent person would bother reading that fluffy, mindless rubbish. They'd be off reading Dickens or Tolstoy, reciting the entire works of William Shakespeare. Right?

How often have you been judged for reading chick-lit? Or any genre for that matter. You read erotica, you must not be getting any. Get a kick out of reading crime novels? You're probably mildly psychotic or perhaps a bit violent. Fascinated by Sylvia Plath? Obviously a man-hater.

April's Literary Adaptations

Shock horror - the adaptations out at the cinema this month are... well... notably absent! There is actually some originality in the cinemas this April. So, for a change, let's have a look at the home cinema releases that will be ready to add to your DVD/Blu-ray collection over the next few weeks. There are three pretty spectacular adaptations there that deal with mental illness, adventure and the complexities of being stranded at sea with a tiger.

The Silver Linings Playbook

Based on the immensely powerful book by Matthew Quick, the film adation of The Silver Linings Playbook has received numerous accolades for the script, directing and acting. The film, which starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, was the only film this year to be nominated in every major category at the Oscars. At its heart, this is a story that takes an honest look at the constant battle with mental illness but what makes it such a joy to watch (and read) is that there is love and humour in there too. An all round great.

Novelicious Natters - I have a Kindle. So what?

It's sort of a running joke between me and my mother that the day I got my Kindle was the day I became a 'traitor'. She even wrote it on the note (yes, she - along with my sister and stepdad - was the one who finally caved and actually BOUGHT it for me). However, she is my mother and the person who got me so into books in the first place. She is the woman who encouraged me to write at a young age and encourages me still today. She is allowed.

Nobody else is.

I have a Kindle because some of the books I read are quite simply enormous. As I do most of my reading on the commute, lugging a massive hardback on the tube is far from ideal. They're heavy and cumbersome and painful to hold one-handed (while the other grips onto the handrail for dear life). What's more annoying than lugging that enormous book on the tube every day? The looks of disappointment from the 'true book lovers' who parade their hard copy of a novel as though they are somehow better than me, as though their love of novels is somehow greater than mine because it comes on paper.