Page 71 - Phonebox Magazine April 2012

Book Review
By Oxfam Bookshop, Olney
Blood Games by Faye Kelleman
A fifteen-year-old boy, Gregory Hesse is found dead in what appears to be a tragic suicide. However, his mother refuses to accept that verdict and pleads with detective Peter Decker to investigate. His enquiries take him to Bell and Wakefield, an exclusive high school in a wealthy part of Los Angeles, where the headmaster admits to not knowing Gregory. When asked about another boy who transferred from the school he refutes the suggestion that this was because of bullying, stating that although there were ‘cliques’, there was no bullying in his school. Matters worsen when, six weeks later, a second pupil from the school commits suicide, and it becomes clear that there are serious problems among the teenagers attending.
described is in sharp contrast to the darker, more sinister plot running parallel to it. And it is this description which lifts Faye Kellerman’s book above the conventional crime novel. The reader is given an insight into the two different worlds which have collided due to an accidental meeting.
In parallel to this theme, Kellerman introduces us to Gabe Whitman, being fostered by the Deckers after his parents abandoned him. A gifted fifteen-year-old, Gabe meets Yasmine through their shared love of classical music, and it is the depiction of their relationship, mirroring that of Shakespeare’s young lovers, Romeo and Juliet meeting in secret, that I found particularly fascinating about this novel. Their backgrounds could not have been more different; Yasmine comes from a strict Persian Jewish family, one which would not allow her to have contact with a young American boy, while Gabe describes himself as a lapsed Catholic whose father is a former hit- man. At fourteen – Juliet’s age – the gauche Yasmine seems much younger; in fact, Gabe originally thought she was about ten.
Inevitably, the two plots coalesce as the novel reaches its climax, revealing dangerous elements hidden under an apparently smooth surface, and the violence which ensues reveals the shocking possibilities open to teenagers, particularly from wealthy and privileged backgrounds.
As their relationship blossoms, the tenderness with which this is
Review by Sandra Metcalf
a Britain fragmented after the withdrawal of Roman troops – attempting to hold back the tide which threatened to drown both the older Celtic culture and the
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliffe
If you like your stories of King Arthur with all the medieval chivalric
There may well have been a king or a war leader (or indeed several) on which the later stories of Arthur, High King of Britain, were based; a leader who used mounted warriors in his fighting force and who may have had an inner ‘brotherhood’ of fighting men who formed the trusted nucleus of his army. Much of this is open to debate by historians. But this is a work of the imagination and Rosemary Sutcliff’s ability to enter this remote world, inhabit its landscape and make its people real is remarkable.
very perfect knight’ then this is not the book for you. If, however, you are interested in where the stories
more recent Roman legacy. It is a battle which Artos knows is ultimately doomed to fail but which seems to him still worth fighting - in the hope that the time he buys may allow something of the past to survive.
and myths (which were already legends in Mallory’s time) might have come from and the kind of
Her writing has an immediacy and power which sweeps the story along and makes it difficult to put down. Characters are rounded and very human in their foibles and failings, but intriguingly identifiable as forerunners of characters in later versions of the Arthurian legends. The daily life of Artos’ men and the hardships of campaigning are very convincing. But alongside this she gives us the heroic and poetic vision which such a moving story of epic action, courage, sacrifice and tragedy needs.
leader who might have given rise to them - then you won’t find a
better or more convincing story than this one.
Rosemary Sutcliff’s ‘King Arthur’ is Artos, a sixth century
Romano-Celtic war leader fighting the Saxon invasions of
A recent film, The Eagle, is based on another of Rosemary Sutcliff’s books - the first in a trilogy set in post-Roman Britain - The Eagle of the Ninth. Although I have no wish to see what Hollywood has done to a much-loved book I would like to think that it might help to bring Rosemary Sutcliff’s books back into print and introduce her to a new generation of readers. In the meantime you may have to try the library to find out just how good she is.
I found this book interesting,
particularly because Faye Kellerman
creates a convincing portrayal of
American teenagers, their emotions,
stresses, fears, hopes and, in
particular, the lengths to which a gang culture might take them. It is a good read, but the possibilities it raises are both thought-provoking and sobering.
Review by Thelma Shacklady
trappings of Mallory’s Morte d’Arthur – round tables, grail quests and ‘the
Phonebox Magazine 71
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The books reviewed above are from Oxfam Books and Music, Olney, which sells donated books, records, CDs, tapes and music to raise money for Oxfam’s work in combating poverty around the world.