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Elena Varvello’s Italian thriller was my second holiday read this year. It was a book I picked up on a whim to fill my beach reading quota and I’m so glad I did. Part crime thriller, part coming of age story, Varvello’s first novel to be translated into English is full of tension and it certainly kept me turning pages, even while cooking.

 

In lieu of me writing a summary, I thought I’d share the introduction from the back of the jacket:

“1978.

Ponte, a small community in Northern Italy. An unbearably hot summer like many others.

Elia Furenti is sixteen, living an unremarkable life of moderate unhappiness, until the day the beautiful, damaged Anna returns to Ponte and firmly propels Elia to the edge of adulthood.

But then everything starts to unravel.

Elia’s father, Ettore, is let go from his job and loses himself in the darkest corners of his mind.

A young boy is murdered.

And a girl climbs into a van and vanishes in the deep, dark woods…”

 

Intrigued yet?

 

As a crime thriller fan, I definitely was. Can you hear me? is split into two narratives, the first being a violent thriller. Within that plot, your attention is mainly focused on the story of that young girl who disappears into the woods. While Varvello hasn’t constructed your classic whodunnit mystery, there is always enough left unsaid to keep you reading even when your pasta is about to boil over. There’s also a good deal of quiet horror, it’s a novel, because it lacks the formula of a procedural drama, that deals well with the terror of those who are left behind in the wake of violence.

 

The other half of the novel is dedicated to Elia’s own coming of age story, which is a tale of infatuation, friendship, and a first foot into independence. Personally, I was much more invested in the thriller half of the novel, but I never felt Elia’s coming of age was a burden to read. In fact, I felt the thriller plot fed well into the bildungsroman, because as Elia becomes a man his father begins to unravel in front of him.

Varvello “says in a brief foreword, the book is partly autobiographical. Varvello’s father had bipolar disorder. She has, she explains, mixed the invented Elia’s tale and imaginings with her “own story”” This autobiographical detail means the mental health aspect of the novel is handled sensitively, despite the violence perpetrated by its bipolar character. I think it’s worth putting in the reminder here that while over a third of the public think people with a mental health problem are likely to be violent – in fact people with severe mental illnesses are more likely to be victims, rather than perpetrators, of violent crime.

 

I agree with Joanna Briscoe’s conclusion that a full memoir of Varvello and her father would have certainly had weight. However, I think the blend of personal experience and imagined narrative works well here, even if it stalls in places, because it widens the appeal of an account of living with a parent with bipolar disorder.

 

Because of its split narrative I can see Can you hear me? appealing to a wider audience than your average crime thriller. So, if you’re on the lookout for a holiday read which will keep you on the edge of your sunlounger, then look no further.

 

SOME QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ

  • How well do you think Varvello manages the dual narrative structure? Did either story catch your interest more?
  • Elia narrates both stories, how reliable is he as a narrator?
  • Can you hear me? is set in Ponte, what impact does its Italian backdrop affect the feel of the novel?
  • Varvello has been compared to Ferrante, other than a shared first name, can you see any similarities between their works?

 

IF YOU WANT SOME FURTHER READING TRY…

  • As normal, I’m starting with a Guardian review. Joanna Briscoe’s hones in on the tension in the form of the novel, and critiques the moments where Varvello doesn’t quite resolve that tension.
  • The Lonesome Reader’s review is much more in line with my own experience of the novel – however, it’s far better written
  • If you’re looking for a more indepth intro to the book before you read it, The Criminal Element sets the story up nicely
  • Short but sweet, The Independent’s review is probably my favourite

 

IF YOU WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS HAVE A LOOK AT…

  • Truman Capote’s, In Cold Blood
  • Alice Sebold’s, The Lovely Bones
  • Terri Cheney’s, Manic: A Memoir
  • Elena Ferrante’s, My Brilliant Friend
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Okay, first I want to acknowledge that this month’s book club is a little late. I’ve been super behind on my reading recently, so I didn’t have any new reviews to share with you and I didn’t want to half cobble something together either on a book I hadn’t read or one from years ago, so here we are.

But I do think that the little bit of extra waiting time, or slow reading time, has meant that this month’s book fell into my consciousness at just the right time because I was in the mood for all things crime after binging My Favorite Murder.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor centres around the disappearance of 13-year-old Rebecca Shaw when she is out on a walk with her parents whilst on a rural holiday. From its premise Reservoir 13 would appear to be your typical countryside murder mystery whodunnit thriller, a modern Midsommer Murders if you will. But life in the village doesn’t grind to a halt “there is work that must still be done: cows milked, fences repaired, stone cut, pints poured, beds made, sermons written, a pantomime rehearsed. The search for the missing girl goes on, but so does everyday life. As it must.”

Because of McGregor’s focus on the life of the village after Rebecca’s disappearance, 13 years of the life of that community, in fact, Reservoir 13 is a slow burner. If you’re looking for a thrilling, detective lead crime novel, I can imagine you would find yourself frustrated by the lack of time spent discussing the disappearance itself and the extreme delayed gratification offered by McGregor’s structure.

My alternative cover for Reservoir 13 which focuses on the cyclical structure of the novel and the swirl of characters from the village

But if you’re prepared to invest some time, and some patience, Reservoir 13 has a lot to offer. The cyclical structure of the novel, each chapter starts with the breaking of a new year, provides a picturesque pastoral on how countryside villages evolve over decades. Within that each fleeting glimpse at the characters of the village allows the reader to build a picture in their mind of the relationships and characters as the novel progresses. No one character is ever completely defined as in life. It’s truly a masterful example of show don’t tell in order to give a character life.

But what is most impressive, and bet described by Maureen Corrigan of the Washington Post is how McGregor “generates suspense, not out of chase scenes or sly dialogue, but out of the extended narrative experience of waiting — waiting for something, anything, to break in Rebecca’s case.” This is why Reservoir 13 really struck home for me after reading about the Golden State killer, and all of cold cases which go on for years and years, but still have the ability to capture the imagination because even if they’ve half-forgotten there’s still that need for closure.

I think Reservoir 13 has two distinct audiences, which I am at the perfect venn diagram centre of. In circle one, if you’re a true crime fan (even though this isn’t a true crime) the realism of this new sort of a crime novel might appeal to you. In circle two you’ve got your lovers of all domestic and fly on the wall style dramas where you get to really consider how other people live, every day and in times of strife. What a combination! There’s a reason it was long-listed for the Man Booker last year after all.

SOME QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ

  • How does Reservoir 13 compare to other murder mysteries you’ve read? Which conventions remain the same, which change?
  • McGregor introduces us to a whole village of characters throughout the novel, were there any who really stood out to you above the rest as you were reading?
  • How does the novel’s cyclical, annual, structure impact your sense of time as you were reading?
  • We hear very little about Rebecca Shaw, how does that shape your internal image of her and your connection to her as the central victim of the story?
  • There’s a real focus on country life as the plot progresses, how do the lives of the people from the village differ from your own? How do you think a similar situation would unfold where you live?

IF YOU WANT SOME FURTHER READING TRY…

  • Kicking it off with another classic Guardian review
  • This New Yorker review goes into a lot more depth about Jon McGregor as a writer and offers a number of really interesting insights, as well as being very well written
  • The Washington Post focuses in on the structure and use of delayed gratification, if that’s your cup of tea
  • If you’re after a quick review which really succinctly gets across what Reservoir 13 is all about, then this piece from The Literary Review is the one for you

IF YOU WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS HAVE A LOOK AT…

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I had intended to do this as a 6 month review, but life happened, I blinked, and then 9 months had passed so here we are. Last September, I redesigned my portfolio and turned it into a platform where I could sell greeting cards, postcards and my very first zine as well as basic commissions and now prints.

 

First things first

Before I get into what I’ve learned, I want to say thank you for the lovely response I got when I launched and ever since. Thank you to anyone who’s bought a card, a commission or even just a sticker. Your support has added so much to this journey. I’m still so blown away that anyone would spend their hard-earned cash on something I’ve made. 

 The Story Behind: My Greeting Card Designs

What I learned setting it up…

You need to give yourself plenty of time

I set a hard deadline for my shop launch because I wanted it to coincide with a year of having my blog – don’t ask me why. But I definitely underestimated the amount of time I would need to spend tweaking and redoing bits and pieces. If I was doing it again, I would recommend breaking it down and to set deadlines for each stage as I worked my way through.

 

Test everything

Get proofs and samples of everything you make before bulk ordering, then be prepared (in terms of time and money) for there to be at least one typo or misprint because it will happen, no matter how careful you are.

 

Just do it

I’d put off setting up a new portfolio and store for so long because I thought it would be too hard, or no one would care, or because I was embarrassed. But now I’ve done it I’m so glad I did. If I can do it, anyone can – seriously.

 

What I learned keeping it going…

Listen to your audience

When I set up my store I added in the option of portrait commissions as a bit of a last-minute whim, but they have proved to be my most popular offering by far, so much so that I’ve had to extend to include couples, groups and patterns. I’ve even drawn a dog (they’re the same as people in my opinion)! Listening to what people have asked me for and the feedback they’ve given has helped me improve my offering so much while remaining true to the kind of work I want to be producing.

 

Selling your work works

I am a very reluctant salesperson, it makes me feel super cringey, and I hate the idea of just leveraging whatever audience I have through this blog or my social media just to sell things. But I’ve come to realise that the only way to get people interested in what you’re doing is to show and tell them about it. I came to that earth-shattering realization after two social media posts pretty much led to all of my valentine’s day sales. You don’t have to be over the top, but you do need to remind people and do a little bit of an attention seeking dance. Plus selling doesn’t have to alienate your audience, in fact, I think I probably have closer, more meaningful, relationships with the people I’ve drawn portraits for because it’s an exercise in making a connection as well as illustration.

 

Don’t go to the post office at lunchtime

This is just good life advice, but if you live in the UK and you have to post something the convenience of just nipping out isn’t worth the hours of your life you will spend in the queue unless there’s a meeting you want to avoid.

 

You need to be Jane Ryan’s Filofax level of organized to hit the holidays

Last year I left myself a month to get ready for Christmas, thinking I was prepared. I wasn’t. I should probably be donning my antlers and prepping now instead of writing this blog post if I’m honest. I had never realized how hyper-aware of holidays you need to be in order to run a store, especially one that includes cards and gifts, before and now I have so much respect (and fear) for everyone who manages to do it and make it look so smooth.

 The Story Behind: My Postcard Designs

What I want to do with it now…

Making a content calendar

This is marketing 101 but it’s something I’ve ignored up until now. I’m going to put together a schedule to remind me when I need to start thinking about seasonal work and to remind me to actually talk about my store.

 

Promote a little bit harder

On the back of that, I’m going to start actively promoting my store and making my portfolio more attractive. I’ve put the effort into making it and it would be a shame just to let it slip away.

 

Produce some new work

I’ve largely left the products up in my store unchanged since my September launch with the exception of Christmas cards and commission options. Taking the time to reflect on having had my store for 9 months has reminded me how much fun I had creating products and I want to do more of it. Plus, now I’ve stepped back from blogging a little bit I have some breathing space. So expect some exciting new things coming your way in the coming months.

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In a first for the book club, this month we’re talking poetry. On a whim, I threw Fernando Pessoa’s I Have More Souls Than One into the cart of my last Waterstones order. It’s one of the Penguin Modern series of fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour.

I have been a huge fan of Pessoa’s writing since reading The Book of Disquiet whilst travelling, but I haven’t spent as much time focusing in on his poetry despite it being the writing for which he’s probably best known. 

Born in 1888, Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese writer, poet and translator known best for his use of “heteronyms”, fictional characters with their own voices to whom Pessoa credited much of his writing. Each of these characters had a date of birth, often not too dissimilar to Pessoa’s own, and a personal history. These backstories were all intertwined, with Pessoa’s heteronyms having relationships of their own and with one another. Pessoa, whose name fittingly means person, frequently denied he existed as a single distinct individual but that he was a vessel for multiple characters, for “more souls than one”.

My alternative cover design for I Have More Souls Than One

His poetry, as written by Pessoa and his heteronyms, displays that desire to be more than just one man particularly clearly. Within his poetry as well as using his own identity, he wrote as Alberto Caeiro, “an untutored child of nature”; as Ricardo Reis, “a melancholic doctor dedicated to classical forms and themes”; and as Alvaro de Campos, “a naval engineer and world traveller who was a devotee of Walt Whitman”. Within I Have More Souls Than One, poems are grouped by heteronym which means you can easily see how each character has a distinct voice.

However, these characters aren’t the only appeal of Pessoa’s poetry. His writing is introspective, often, unsurprisingly on the nature of identity and universal whilst being highly localized to early twentieth century Portugal. It’s modernist in its eschewing of traditional structures, and it’s clever in its creation of new ones. It’s also just funny in places.

Reading I Have More Souls Than One is a fascinating insight into the work of one man, Fernando Pessoa, whilst offering the joy and diversity of getting to read the works of four highly inventive poets 

If you’re at all interested in learning more about Pessoa or his writing, I’d highly recommend picking up I Have More Souls Than One as a taster. I’m planning on trying out a few more of the Penguin Modern series, as they are perfect introductions to authors and styles you’re less familiar with, without the need to pick up a full novel or book of poetry and daunting feeling that can come with it.

SOME QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ

  • What differences and similarities can you see in the different voices in the poems?
  • Do you have a favourite heteronym?
  • Do you have any alter egos or characters within you?
  • How does varying the form of Pessoa’s poetry effect how you read and feel it?

IF YOU WANT SOME FURTHER READING TRY…

IF YOU WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS HAVE A LOOK AT…

 Have you read anything from Fernando Pessoa? What did you think?
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I’ve been going through a bit of a blogging crisis recently. Despite writing my goals at the start of the year I’ve found it really hard to find a focus to what I’m doing, which in turn has made it increasingly difficult to find the motivation to write and create content.

The fun I was having in just making things and putting them out into the world and seeing what happened when I started this last year had gone. I still love illustrating. I still have moments when the words just seem to type themselves. But I’d started to resent having to sit down and “blog” or do all of the social media stuff that comes along with that.

If I’m honest, I’d let the numbers get to me.

I have fewer views than I did this time last year. My social followers seem to have plateaued. Despite me putting in more work, and creating things I loved, it felt like it made no difference.

While the numbers aren’t everything. They are something.

I never thought I’d be a huge blogger. I’m quite late to the game, with a slightly unfocused niche that doesn’t have the kind of cache as lifestyle or beauty. But I did think I would keep growing if my content kept improving.

So when the numbers started to dwindle I took it very personally. I’ve poured hours and hours into this blog, and to feel it wasn’t growing with the effort was hard, especially because it’s been the focus of the content I’ve put out into the world for the past year.

Focusing on this blog has given me so many opportunities, but it’s also taken my focus away from my other work. 

So, I’m redefining who I am as a maker and where I am in the blogging world. I was never really a blogger. I am an illustrator who blogs.

I’m going to focus on developing those skills and creating great visual work I love.

In order to do that, I’m going to be taking a bit of a step back from this blog over the next couple of months from April onwards, and dropping down to two posts a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). I’ll still be sending out my newsletter every Sunday morning so there’s still going to be plenty of content out there. But reducing my schedule is going to give me the breathing space to hopefully really develop my art for its own sake rather than just to support this blog.

Hopefully in turn that will help me have a more healthy relationship with blogging, and who knows it might even lead to some fresher content.