My attempt at reviewing the First Chapters Winners

Okay, so I’ve never written a book review before; never – not even in school - honestly! But I entered First Chapters and read lots of entries, enjoyed following through to the end, and loved these two winning books. So this is my first attempt at a review. I’m sure it doesn’t do justice to two really good writers, but it’s the best I can offer.

I’m a voracious reader. Some books I’ll read in a couple of nights, unable to put them down except to eat, sleep, work, walk the dog etc. Others I’ll savor like a fine wine, absorbing the fragrance and letting the complex tastes mull on my mind. Usually I’ll be reading more than one book at once, at least one fine wine, and maybe a sangria and a spritzer at the same time. The fine wine might take me a while to finish, but I’ll delight in it just the same.

I entered the First Chapters competition with a book of my own writing, which failed to impress. Then I read the competition and saved my Borders gift card from Gather till I could purchase the winners. I’ve read both winning books now, and know why I lost.

What surprised me most as I started reading (both at once, of course) was that the winners were so different from each other. One book, The Way Life Should Be, I devoured in the designated two nights, staying up late, waking up tired, turning pages as fast as I found time. The other, Fire Bell in the Night, took me weeks to finish, lying on the coffee table till I knew was free from interruptions, picked up only when I knew I had time to savor it.

The Way Life Should Be is an exciting story, with twists that lead inexorably to turns, and excitement that keeps you coming back for more. Terry Shaw creates characters that fascinate, confuse and annoy, just like real people, and I had to keep reading to find out not only what had happened, but why. I had to see if people would change and learn, and I ended satisfied. Now though, it’s not so much the characters or plot that I remember, but the falling down of false assumptions and the scenes of a place I’ve never been. There was a bridge; what happened was exciting but it’s fading. There were stone buildings, a café with a rather large sign, and a park; and a sense of atmosphere.

Did I tell you, I have a talent for forgetting things? I rarely get rid of books, neither to give away nor to sell, because I love to reread. I’ll reread Terry Shaw’s book in a while, revisit Maine, remind myself of how things and people change. But for now it’s safely shelved with my other favorite mysteries and adventures.

The second book, Fire Bell in the Night, was a much slower read. I started, unsure of where it was going. My only knowledge of the American South came from text books and novels that I didn’t choose to keep. I couldn’t even say now which stories they were – they may have been great and famous books that I read too young to enjoy for all I know. (I hated The Hobbit as a kid, and devoured and delighted in Lord of the Rings. I hated Alice in Wonderland then sought out The Complete Lewis Carroll from a college bookstore.)

In Fire Bell in the Night, Geoffrey Edwards introduces a cast of characters, then loses or kills them straight away. I found myself looking around, wondering where they’d gone; confused as I entered a strange place, just as I suspect he intended me to be. And then that city, Charleston, came fully to life. Every page I turned, I learned something new. I tagged behind a New York reporter, stranger in a strange land, and in the final chapters I found the whole story and its people brought together, coming full circle.

I love the way the book is framed, from chapter 3 to the end, by the railway station. I can see and hear and smell it in my mind; that one church spire of many; the militia; the porters; and the trains, and the whole idea of railways. Geoffrey Edwards brings me in on a train, and takes me out again, and I know I will always remember a fascinating visit.

The Way Life Should Be was an exciting ride, a fairground ride that I will take again and again, knowing I’ve been there before but every twist and turn unexpected just the same. Fire Bell in the Night I will revisit as a great castle or mansion (perhaps a plantation), gloriously restored. And at every return I’ll expect to see something new, something I missed before.

I love both books, each in its very different way, and I could never have written either. My congratulations to both the authors – may you write again, and may I read you again as well as rereading. And my thanks to Gather for introducing this voracious reader to two excellent new writers.