Friday 4 June 2010

Like Bees to Honey by Caroline Smailes

I have followed Caroline's writing since her debut novel In Search of Adam was published. Her use of language and the way she plays with space on the page, fonts and dialect are unique and cleverly presented adding that something extra to each of her books. The page and the book itself are as much a part of the story as... well the story.

When I heard about the subject matter of this new novel I was excited to read it. It seemed an age from that first glimpse on her "magical blog" until actual publication date. The buzz surrounding this book was palpable. Everyone was excited! People were talking about it all over the web. Then it was released; and ahead of schedule. There it was, as I walked into my local Waterstone's, on the front table the first book you see as you walk through the door. The cover is marvellous! Better in the flesh than it appeared on the photos. Delicious and summery; smelling of sun, sand and the dust of Malta.


The whole adage that you can't judge a book by its cover, in this case, completely wrong.


From the opening page to the end I was hooked, spirited away to an island that before reading this book I had associated with churches and very little else. It is due to Caroline's delectable use of description that Malta is now on my must visit soon list. Over the years Armistead Maupin's San Francisco based Tales of the City and Mma Ramotswe's Botswana have inspired wanderlust and luckily I've had the privilege of touring California whilst the other I hope to see one day.


The sense of place, in this, Caroline's third novel certainly gives Joanne Harris' s France a run for its money. As for the characters, each are complicated and exquisitely drawn. A toenail painting, reality TV addicted Jesus, a northern lesbian ghost and an Italian visionary to name but three.


The protagonist's, Nina's, journeys both physical and spiritual are absorbing, emotional and unputdownable. This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time after reading. There is even a cameo from one of the characters from her first novel which I was most pleased with myself to notice.


This is certainly the best book I have read of this year so far and I think that the time for Caroline's popularity is about to soar like a jet plane on its way to a tiny island in the med. If you haven't already go out and buy it immediately; Like Bees to Honey can be bought here.
















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