Page 60 - Phonebox Magazine June 2007

Book Review
By Oxfam Bookshop, Olney
Raking the Ashes by Anne Fine
Anne Fine is one of our finest writers for children. Her novels for adults, of which this is one, display the same strong plotting, real and rounded characters and willingness to tackle uncomfortable subjects.
Tilly, the central character of Raking the Ashes is an engineer, she is tough and capable and she doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She pushes people in and out of her life exactly as it suits her, until she meets Geoff who is compassionate and generous; who offers her love, care and attention. But along with these qualities Geoff has some major flaws: he has two unhappy children – to whom Tilly is expected to be useful but about whose welfare she is not allowed an opinion; and he has an infinite capacity to lie, especially to himself, about anything he doesn’t want to face up to – which turns out to be almost everything. The seductive, marshmallow effect of life with Geoff makes it easy for Tilly to go along with him and enjoy being pampered. But she is not the sort of person who can live for very long without the truth. Tilly sees very clearly what is wrong with Geoff’s life, and tries repeatedly to make him do the same, but without success.
Tilly should be a very unsympathetic character – she too lies if it suits her and she has a temper that I personally wouldn’t want to experience: “Tilly, you’ll come to no good. You have an evil gift for twisting what you know about people round into knowing exactly how to upset them.” And I certainly wouldn’t recommend the solution to which she finally resorts to free herself from the mess of Geoff’s life. But I liked her, and I thought Geoff was dreadful. Whether this is a tribute to Anne Fine’s writing, or an uncomfortable reflection on my character, I couldn’t decide! K
Review by Sandra Metcalf
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Interpretation of Murder is based around the visit of Sigmund Freud to New York in 1909 – hence the title, reminiscent of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams. On the one hand a murder mystery, at the same time it gives a very vivid picture of Manhattan at the turn of the century, with its skyscrapers, social status based on wealth and corruption in high places. Freud’s method of treating neuroses by psychoanalysis is viewed with suspicion by the medical practitioners of the day, so much so, that there are concerted attempts to prevent his lectures taking place. However, Freud and his American disciple, Stratham Younger, are enlisted to help Nora Acton, a wealthy heiress, recover her memory after a vicious attack and, in turn, identify a killer. In Freud’s party is another psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, and the conversations recorded between them seem very strange, too incredible to be taken seriously. However, I subsequently discovered in the Author’s Note that these did, in fact, take place, though not in the setting they were given. A case of fact being stranger than fiction! Interwoven between the threads of the murder investigation with all its complexity and the Oedipus complex propounded by Freud, we learn about the Manhattan bridge, and the ingenious methods used to build its foundations; about the use and abuse of money and power.
One unusual aspect of the novel is the characterisation. The people described lack the depth which would enable the reader to identify with them. They seem rather two- dimensional, archetypal, more like those observed in Greek tragedies than in modern novels. Younger himself is first presented to us as the narrator, speaking in the first person, but at other times is referred to objectively in the third person. It all contributes to the shifts and changes which make this novel so original.
Review by Thelma Shacklady
It is difficult to categorise this book.
Should it be placed in the crime section, or would it find its place among the historical novels? Wherever you find it, read it, and be transported to early twentieth century Manhattan, where a murder is being investigated! K
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