The Passion of Alice, Stephanie Grant
The Passion of Alice was a quick read that was long-listed for the Women’s Prize in its inaugural year. Personally I liked it much better than the last book I read (Eveless Eden), as it was told from a woman’s perspective, even though the narrator could be considered unreliable. The narrator and protagonist is a woman suffering from anorexia who had suffered from a heart attack as a result of starving herself, and was sent to a live-in clinic with other patients suffering from eating disorders. There she meets a woman suffering from bulimia who shifts her entire outlook on life, making her feelings and desires make more sense, and making her realize that she can (and should) be less harsh and judgmental toward other people, including herself. Although the novel itself does not have what could be called a hopeful ending for the protagonist, it still can be read in the hopeful light of personal development and growth that we all struggle with at times. This was Grant’s debut novel, and her second novel, Map of Ireland, came out in 2008.
Official and Doubtful, Ajay Close
I think his book took me the longest amount of time to read than almost any other book, partly because I was on vacation (woo!) and distracted and often tired, but also because every time I sat down to read, the protagonist seemed to be in a completely different situation, which took some time to untangle, and then the author would mention a character and I would be like “Who is that?” and I would have to go back in the novel to try to remind myself who said character was. A little frustrating. This book was also characterized as a psychological thriller, which, although it did concern murder and blackmail, in my opinion, was not. Maybe because of how slow the plot moved forward. Basically, a woman trying to escape her past moves to Glasgow and starts work at the post office, where she discovers a piece of blackmail that could not be delivered, and she sets out to try to discover who the blackmail was meant for before it’s too late. That plot is rolled out at the same time as readers discover the mysterious past of the protagonist, which although painful was somewhat unsurprising. This novel was long-listed for the Women’s Prize in its inaugural year.