Book Review - Keep your mouth shut Carolynn by Carole Lonsdale

 

Carolynn was born in nineteen-forty-four when her dad was fighting in the war. It is nineteen-forty-five when he arrives home weighing six stone. He is immediately sent to a hospital in Wales, where he has a long recovery. Aged fifteen, Carolynn leaves school to begin a three-year hairdressing apprenticeship. She gains her diploma, buys a minivan and becomes a mobile hairdresser. Carolynn marries her childhood sweetheart in nineteen-sixty-six, and the couple wants to start a family. However, Carolynn suffers a miscarriage at twelve weeks and struggles to get pregnant again. Eventually, she delivers her much-longed-for daughter Kerry.

When Kerry tries to walk, her feet turn in so much that she struggles. She has to have plaster casts for six weeks. These make no difference; Kerry can only walk using her baby walker. When she is two, she has an operation on her Achilles tendons to help untighten the muscles in her legs. Although she can now walk with built-up shoes, Kerry has many falls and spasms, and the slightest illness, even a cold, worsens them. Over the next few years, she had endless tests, including EEGs and ECGs, but all returned normal. When Kerry is five, her brother Darren is born, weighing eight pounds twelve ounces. His birth is straightforward, but he is a dark blue colour. Why is Darren born this colour? Why does Darren also have to have an operation when he is two? What is Hyperspadious? Moreover, do they ever discover what causes Carolynn's children to shake and have spasms? Read Keep your mouth shut Carolynn by Carole Lonsdale for the answers to these questions and more.

I felt for Carolynn. All she wants is for her children to be healthy and well. On one side, she has the school saying they cannot cope; on the other, she has the Dr's doing lots of tests and saying there is nothing medically wrong. Being a mother myself, I found this heartbreaking, particularly when Darren starts having spasms and uncontrollable shaking. The Dr. says he is copying his sister, and Carolynn is an over-anxious mother! Kerry and Darren are disabled, but because there is no diagnosis, Carolynn gets no help. I admired Carolynn's strength of character, supporting her children to be the best they can be in mainstream life whilst fighting for a diagnosis. I also found it very scary to read about all the mistakes made by medical professionals. For example, when Darren has an operation, and after four days, a Dr comes over and tells Carolynn he can go home tomorrow. When Carolynn says that she had been told Darren would be in hospital for at least ten days, the Dr reads his wristband and says, "Oh sorry". He had the wrong child!

I disliked that Keep your mouth shut Carolynn by Carole Lonsdale is let down badly by the lack of proofreading and editing. I found at least one error on most pages. This book needs to be correctly proofread to do it justice. Some of the sentences make no sense at all, spoiling the flow of the narrative! 

I would recommend Keep your mouth shut Carolynn by Carole Lonsdale to adults who enjoy reading true stories and biographies dealing with disabilities and the struggles had to gain a diagnosis. This book is not for the faint-hearted it is a heartbreaking story about the lives of Carolynn's family, particularly their children Kerry and Darren, and later their grandchildren. The family have so much against them, an undiagnosed medical condition, bullying, negligent medical staff, child abuse and adultery. They stay strong as a family and are always supportive of each other. 

I want to give Keep your mouth shut Carolynn by Carole Lonsdale 4 out of 5 stars. It is with sadness that I have had to reduce the score because of the lack of proofreading. I found it hard to put this book down and had a whole range of emotions while reading it sadness, horror and disbelief, but there were parts where I laughed out loud. This is a fantastic account of a courageous family!

What Next You Bastard by Ken Hall

 

What Next You Bastard by Ken Hall is a biography telling the story of Ken's sixty years getting to where he is now. Ken was a very sickly child born without tonsils or adenoids meant he could not fight illnesses. When Ken was eight, his appendix was removed, and he died on the operating table. Ken is constantly in and out of the hospital; the children's ward is very much home to him. However, he gets to twelve, is declared an adult, and ends up in Ward 1A, the adult terminal ward. Rheumatic fever enlarges his heart, tuberculosis weakens his lungs, and St. Vitus' dance means he has involuntary muscle movements. Ken is not expected to survive and is sent home to spend his last Christmas with his family. Against all the odds, he survives! 

Throughout his life, Ken is plagued by bullies. The lack of oxygen when he dies on the operating table affects his short and long-term memory, making it impossible for him to learn to read, write or do even the most straightforward math problems. At thirteen, Ken applies for an apprenticeship; he must pass his school scholarship certificate and signs up for an evening class. Here the tutor makes Ken stand on a chair in front of the class and then says on page thirty-five, "This is the world's only human baboon that you and I will ever know in our lifetime. His composition was the greatest heap of shit I have ever read." Luckily Cortisone is invented, and Ken is the first person in Queensland to have it; this makes a big difference to his health, but as he is still unable to read, write or do even simple maths, how is he going to survive as an adult?

I was initially put off reading this book, the cover picture looked like a thug smoking drugs, and I was not sure it would be a story I would enjoy. However, I found so much to love about Ken Hall's biography What Next You Bastard. Ken's optimism and passion for living the best life he can, shine through even the darkest moments. Ken is truly inspirational, and I found that by the end of the book, I had so much respect and admiration for him. Ken puts up with many knockbacks in life. However, he soon picks himself up and has another go. 

What Next You Bastard is set in Australia, where I have never been, and I enjoyed learning about the bush, droving cattle, and the night horses, which are useless in the day because they cannot see but are brilliant for droving at night!

I know this is a biography, but I would not say I liked that there seemed to be too quick an improvement in Ken's health. He is sent home to die, having spent most of his life in and out of the hospital, but his mum immediately takes him on holiday, and shortly after, he is at work.

Even though Monika McFerran had only met Ken once, she was so inspired by his life that she ghostwrote What Next You Bastard; this was Monika's debut novel, and she has done a fantastic job. I found no errors in this book. The editing and proofreading are perfect!

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. One grammatical error caught my attention. I think there should be a question mark after the title What Next You Bastard. Nevertheless, the story of Ken Hall's life makes for a unique and wonderfully uplifting book. 

 

I recommend What Next You Bastard by Ken Hall to anyone who likes biographies or autobiographies about ordinary people who triumph over adversity. There is some swearing, and I do not think it is appropriate for younger audiences due to some of the subject matters covered. There are also some mild sexual references as Ken fumbles his way through getting to know various women, but most of these are rather comical.

 

Thank you to Ken Hall for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review. 

You can see more of my reviews  here 

http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

Review of Swallow's also fall by CR Armeny

 

It is nineteen eighteen when influenza is sweeping Europe like a plague. The newly born Marcel-li is a sickly baby, his mother has died from influenza, and he is being fostered. Swallows Also Fall by CR Armeny tells Marcel-li Massana's life through an enthralling mixture of fact and fiction. From the point of view of his foster mother, his foster sister and Marcel-li himself. When the family gets the news that his father has died from a heart attack, Marcel-li is five. When he turns seven, his uncle arrives to take him back to Solsona to be educated and become a priest. Overnight, Marcel-li is taken from a loving foster family to a repressed and miserable life with his Aunt Teresa and Uncle Damia. After taking Marcel-li for his first visit to the Cathedral, Uncle Damia says to Marcel-li, "You're a big boy now, and you need to learn discipline." Marcel-li is terrified and soon learns that everything he does is reported back to his uncle! As Marcel-li grows up, his brooding resentment grows into a revolutionary obsession, and he joins the Maqui resistance movement based in France so that he can fight Franco's government. Does Marcel-li become a priest? Why does Marcel-li end up in a concentration camp? How does the book get its title? Read Swallows Also Fall to discover the answers to these and other questions.

I love the descriptions Armeny uses to set the scenes, particularly when describing countryside, landscape and nature. For example, on page four, "In the evening, as we gathered around the fire, the forest became alive with the sharp screeching of the barn owl, the ghostly ooh-hu, ooh-hu, ooh-hu! of the eagle owl, and, at times, the terrifying howling of wolves." I felt the deep emotions in Marcel-li's life, his love for his foster family and his parents. His hatred for his aunt and uncle and the environment in which they bring him up. I felt Marcel-li's passion for joining the resistance movement and fighting to break Franco's regime. Furthermore, I felt Marcel-li's constant struggle to survive it all. The story is well thought out, and the characterization is brilliant. One conflict follows another, and the characters' lives follow the thread of Marceli Massana's turbulent journey and his ambition to restore justice and democracy.
 

Swallows Also Fall blends fact and fiction well, but the Cardona concentration camp is mentioned at one point. Despite extensive research, I can find no details that there was ever a concentration camp in Cardona. I think CR Armeny mentioning something specific should be backed up by truth. Also, I did not particularly appreciate that the only explanation for the foster family moving to Berga was that they had too much bad luck on their smallholding and wanted a change. The family are poor, livestock have died, and presumably, they have even less money now, but they move to a farmhouse. How do they suddenly afford this?

I recommend Swallows Also Fall by CR Armeny to adults and older teenagers who enjoy factually based historical fiction. Due to the subject matter, I would not recommend it to anyone younger.

I would like to give Swallows Also Fall 5 out of 5 stars. It is well-written, and the editing is perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Marcel-li's life.

Book Review - I Spy My Life In MI5 by Tom Marcus

 

This is the true story of Tom Marcus's life in MI5, but it reads like a James Bond novel. From the first page, I was fascinated by the detail that Tom used to describe the various missions he was involved in. He gives no secrets away but still manages to make you feel you are beside him in the heat of the action. The writing flows very naturally. It felt possible to imagine being part of the surveillance team, whether hidden in grassland on a Welsh hillside or alone in a pub full of strangers. 

This book is a page-turner. It is a fascinating glimpse into the highly pressured work that the MI5 operatives do. The teamwork of these highly trained people is beyond amazing they are like a well-oiled machine watching out for each other whilst doing this hazardous work. 

On the flip side, Tom's private life is interwoven into this story. He has a young son and a beautiful wife, and he starts becoming obsessed with keeping them safe. His job nearly destroys him by its all-encompassing nature and unsocial hours. Tom starts to think that every shadow is out to get him and is finally diagnosed with PTSD, but with the help of his ever-supportive wife, he starts to live a life in the real world and begins to work on his demons.

This is a highly readable book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning a little about the workings of MI5, and I think anyone who enjoys spy novels would enjoy this book too.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and I'm looking forward to reading other books by Tom Marcus.

I would like to thank my son for recommending I read this book