Review: The Monarch by John Jennings

Synopsis: Fisherman, publican, father - his influence reaches throughout North East England. Meet Jerry Compton. a friendly man, a just man, a reasonable man. The fairest of his profession.

The Monarch, a modern masterpiece, is a searing portrayal of 1990s Northumberland, England and the North of Ireland. It is also the intimate story of the Swaddle family, at once drawn together and ripped apart by its unique position at the core of Northumbrian society in the aftermath of the Miners' Strike, Ireland's Troubles and industrial and agricultural decline. Throw in a young Irish woman and her young family for good measure to further expose the regions' issues whilst hopefully choosing a path to success and enlightenment. Will they succeed and embrace the coming century, or will they succumb to the negative fatalism so typical of many of their forbears.

Marrying traditional English and North Eastern dialects with a free and elaborate style, the author employs realism and streams of consciousness to portray North East England and Ireland in a way that resonates with audiences today and far beyond.

A family saga set in the north of England, with patriarch Jeremy Compton at its centre. A story filled with humour and heartache; a social narrative of an area that suffered significantly from both industrial and agricultural decline; a story of survival in spite of it all, not necessarily a pretty story with the usual hearts and flowers happy ending.

I think if you are a bit of a fan of "Eastenders" or "Coronation Street", then this one is definitely for you.

All This By Chance by Vincent O'Sullivan

Review by Nicholas Reid at Stuff (NZ):

On the simplest level this novel is, as the cover blurb says, a "multigenerational family saga", moving from parents to their adult children to their adult grandchildren.

In part All This By Chance tells us much about how different generations of young New Zealanders have interpreted the big world called Overseas. Stephen in the 1940s, Lisa in the 1960s and a granddaughter in the 2000s react to Europe in very different ways.

More essential, though, is what the novel says about the hold that the past has over us, how the past shapes us whether we like it or not, and how lethal it can be to pretend uncomfortable parts of the past never happened. This novel is about time, remembrance and the persistence of family traits, even when they have been ignored.