#MariaInTheMoon #LouiseBeech #BlogTour




*My thanks to the publisher from whom I received this book in return for participating in the Blog Tour and for providing an unbiased and honest review*

Watch out. This book is going to be huge; it's going to be loved by anyone who picks it up, it's one to savour and one that will not easily be forgotten. Maria in the Moon is already receiving huge accolade and praise from early reviewers and it is all deserved. If you haven't read a Louise Beech novel before then make time to settle down and read this one!

Maria in the Moon is the story of Catherine Maria, 32 years old and although usually one for remembering everything, can not remember her ninth year. She suffers from insomnia and is plagued by nightmares when she does sleep. What happened when she was nine? Why can't she remember? And why did her Nanny Eve stop calling her Catherine Maria?

Living in Hull just after the 2007 floods, Catherine decides to volunteer on the phone lines for a flood charity and it is here, by listening to the stories of others, that her own story comes back to haunt her.

This novel is a rollercoaster of emotions and hard to categorise or sum up neatly. It made me smile, laugh, cry and think. I was caught up in the storyline, the characters, the relationships and the backdrop of a real event but I was also mesmerised by the writing style and the powerful prose. Louise Beech has written about "That Day" and the devastation the 2007 flood caused in Hull but she has also written a  about love, grief, trauma, memories and how a shocking revelations can open metaphorical floodgates and cause devastation within a family. 

It's clear that Beech cares about Hull, about the people and the crisis they faced in 2007 as the effects of the flood are depicted with care and detail. Her use of dialogue and reported comments, the conversations she creates all around the characters captures the impact that the flood had on the community. But I think what was interesting is how Beech uses this environmental crisis as a catalyst to explore the subsequent emotional crisis faced by individuals. The floodgates are opened - literally and psychologically and there is no going back. Just as Hull is broken, destroyed, vulnerable and in need of some serious TLC, so to are the characters we meet in this novel. Catherine, our protagonist, volunteers on the phone lines at a Flood Crisis and yet the calls she receives are not just about practicalities and finances, they are about how lives have been changed because of the flood -relationships, revelations, secrets exposed and those who suffer from isolation and loneliness. This leads us seamlessly into the emergence of Catherine's painful and shocking memory and then it is her turn to attempt to come to terms with her past, the terrifying truth and the sudden knowledge that changes everything. 

Beech has a lovely turn of phrase. She captures the nuances of her characters so cleverly with the inclusion of odd throwaway details that reveal real insight and impressive observational skills- both of human behaviour and human emotions. She is also careful about what she doesn't include as much as what she does. This book is about what is not said as much as what is said and this is echoed through the phone calls at the crisis centre with the use of silence, the pauses, the waiting. 

I really loved Catherine. She was funny, sharp, witty, said all the things I wish I could but despite how she might appear, and how she tried to portray herself, she is actually full of love and kindness. I liked the mix of wry humour, the punchy phrases and conversations against the bleakness, the ominous sense of threat and the sadness. The family dynamics are also well evoked and the relationships within Catherine's family so truly portrayed that it is powerful novel. It is impossible not to feel moved by Catherine's relationship with Nanny Eve - that is written with true love. And the final section is so harrowing and painful that you will need tissues at the ready. But despite the huge emotional impact of the novel, Beech's lightness of touch and her use of humour make it an easy read and one that is immediately compelling. Also her ending lines in the penultimate chapter are incredibly heartwarming and  full of hope. 

There is so much I could write about in this review. I loved the exploration of memories and dreams, the imagery, use of water as a metaphor and the descriptions. I loved that it was about Hull's collective memory as well as personal and individual memory. I loved the use of repetition, motifs and key phrases, oh - and names - I haven't even had time to talk about how poignant I found the repetition of names, people's choice of names and the significance of how and who we want to be known. This book is actually very complex and multilayered in a way that is not obvious but the fact that the prose is so absorbing and captivating shows that this author has a real gift for language. 

As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, the reaction from readers is already incredible and they are one hundred percent right in their praise, admiration and affection for this book. I now join them. Outstanding. 

Maria in the Moon is published by Orenda Books on 30th September 2017. 


BIBLIOMANIAC'S BOOK CLUB: QUESTIONS

I think this book would be great for a Book Club read. Here's some questions to get your conversation started - if you need any help that is! 

1. If you were to work at Flood Crisis, what name would you choose to be known by and why? Do any of you have a nick name or a name you are known by within your close family? How do you feel about it? 

2. What insights or messages do you think the author is sharing about families? What values do you think the author feels are important in a family?

3. At the end of the book there is a note explaining that Carrie Martin wrote a song after hearing Louise talk about Maria in the Moon. Listen to the song. Have a chat about the song, it's connection to the book and the relationship between the music and the novel.

4. Music and memories are often very deeply connected. What nursery rhymes, family favourite songs or personal choices would you choose as a soundtrack for your life or immediately connect you with a specific memory?

5. Catherine volunteers for two telephone help lines. What does she claim are her motivations for doing this? What are her actual motivations? What about the other volunteers there? 

6. What did you think about the representation of mothers in the novel?

7. What do you think happens next for Catherine? Will she continue with another job volunteering at a crisis centre or will she move on to something new? 

8. How authentic did you feel the phone calls taken by Flood Line were? What about the responses from the listeners? How good was Catherine at her job?

9. Did you like Catherine Maria? Which characters did you sympathise / like / dislike the most?

10. What challenges do you think the author faced when trying to write about a town affected by flood? How well does she meet these challenges?


LOUISE BEECH 


Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. The sequel, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both books have been number one on Kindle, Audible and Kobo in USA/UK/AU. She regularly writes travel pieces for the Hull Daily Mail, where she was a columnist for ten years. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice and being published in a variety of UK magazines. Louise lives with her husband and children on the outskirts of Hull – the UK’s 2017 City of Culture – and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012. She is also part of the Mums’ Army on Lizzie and Carl’s BBC Radio Humberside Breakfast Show.

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my blog bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.co.uk or website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

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