The Other Hand
by Chris Cleave
Review by: Leanne Francis

The Other Hand is a disturbing tale; but one filled with hope, love and warmth. It compels you to think seriously about the issues within it.

The story captivates from the first page with its deliciously rich detail. We are immediately drawn into the world of “Little Bee” unaware of the devastating direction her story will take us. She is a young Nigerian refugee and the other main character is a middle class English woman. The story alternates from their point of view and how they interpret the events unfolding around them. The worlds of the two women combine on a sandy stretch of Nigerian beach. This is the pivotal scene in the book that isn’t revealed until chapter 4. It’s not that simple however, their chance meeting has shocking consequences for those closest to them and plays out in ways that could hardly be expected.

It is fair to say that the reader will experience a range of emotions whilst reading this book. A large amount of it horror; the thoughts nightmares are made of.

The publicity, or lack of, surrounding the book, is a little off-putting. The promotion of the book is based on the little is more theory and instead of revealing any storyline, attempts to hook the reader with ‘it’s a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it’. It may well be, but that is for the reader to decide and for the reader to choose the book, they need to know an outline of the story.

This is English author, Chris Cleave’s second novel. He is a columnist for The Guardian in London. His debut novel, Incendiary caused quite a stir when it was coincidentally released on 7 July 2005; the day London was attacked. His novel detailed terrorist bombings and the book was quickly removed from shelves.

Cleave produces what some would call contenscious novels. He tackles modern issues with humour, yet achieves sincerity. “Little Bee” is Nigerian. England has a policy of not accepting refuges from the African country because it deems it to be safe. That is, except for the oil war.

Without doubt, this book will move you and won’t disappoint.

The Cloud Garden
by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder

This novel was recommended to me by a DJ of all people. A comedy kidnapping was the brief if I remember rightly. It was a description too incongruous to ignore. The Cloud Garden charts the adventures of Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder as they not so successfully attempt to cross the Darien Gap.

Snuggled in between North and South America on the Panama-Colombian border, the Darien Gap is 10,000 square feet of lawless jungle. If you find yourself stranded here you’ll be needing your mosquito repellent, a machete and some fairly heavy duty running shoes. Guide books will mention The Darien Gap however the excerpt will be strongly advising you not to even attempt to cross it. Amongst its dense rainforest there is incredible bio-diversity it is also home to poachers, guerrillas, bootleggers, drug smugglers and revolutionaries. In other words, you’d be a bloody fool to try and trek through it. This however is exactly what the two Brits attempted in 2000.

Hart Dyke is touring South America in search of orchids. A botanist from Kent he is out to photograph some of the world’s rarest plants. As he ventures through Mexico he meets Paul Winder, an investment banker from London. Desperate for excitement he and Tom team up and plan their escapade. After two days of tough walking along vine clad paths and just hours away from Colombia they are ambushed by guerrillas from FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) and taken hostage for nine months. After endlessly marching around the jungle and with the threat of execution a daily reminder of their woes they are suddenly released to stumble back to civilisation.

The Twin Towers were still standing when they headed into the thicket. This book might never have been written had they left their attempt till after September 11th 2001. The world and its people have become terrorist aware since that date and even adrenaline junkies tread a cautious path these days. As it stands The Cloud Garden is an account of youthful exuberance and high stupidity and the writing benefits from both. The duo take turns writing paragraphs of events like a tag team, and it lends a wonderful air to the tale. The book fairly bounces along with humour and good old fashioned British mettle. The clarity with which they remember events is astonishing considering it charts nine tortuous months of physical and mental suffering. They aren’t stingy with the details either. Jungle rot attacks their feet, worms burrow into their skin; bitten, burnt and unwashed they plough through each new day. The human body however is a resilient beast. They stand up to daily threats of beheading and tackle awkward sexual advances from their female captors. They manage a spot of jungle cricket and teach the camp to sing ‘Always Look On The Bright Side of Life’. You’ll be cringing and crying simultaneously. Along the way you’ll hear a very funny and highly timely fart gag, you’ll learn more that perhaps you needed to know about orchids and you’ll question the audacity of naming each of their captors (with names like Loose Teenager, Trouble Ahead, Will Smith and The Nutter). If you suspect your life has become a little dull and feel the need to pull on a backpack I urge you to pour yourself a glass of milk instead and sit down with this slice of literary gold.

A Feast of Snakes
by Harry Crews

Harry Crews is not for the fainthearted. He is at times a writer of prose so brutal you’ll recoil in horror. Yet there is hilarity in his heart of darkness and his tales will grip you and drag you deep into the Florida murk. Thurston Moore of US band Sonic Youth says of Crews,’ "God bless Harry Crews, America's best writer. He'll break your heart but he'll always bring you love. They just don't make 'em like this anymore." Moore nails the man in one. For all the southern gothic in his novels Crews writes with a soul that explores redemption as the ultimate goal.

A Feast of Snakes is Crews’ 8th novel written in 1976. The novel charts the escalating drama during the annual Rattlesnake Roundup in Mystic, Georgia. This novel is a boiling pot. You can feel the tension rising from page one as the deliciously named majorette Hard Candy (undoubtedly where the cosmetic company took their name) looks lustily towards a dark figure. The shadow under the bleachers is Joe Lon Mackey. Joe Lon has the straight eyed stare of a sociopath. He is a man who is stuck, fed up and resigned. A former All- American running back; now living in a caravan with his wife Elfie and their two small children. Elfie sleepwalks through life wanting only to please her man but Joe Lon can’t be pleased; he takes no pleasure in life at all. He tends his father’s store cum bar where his unpaid help cook up the moonshine out back. He howls in the cab of his truck when he doesn’t think that anyone is watching. He is the very definition of a ticking time bomb.

As people from all over the country sweep into town for the Roundup things really start to unravel. His childhood sweetheart Berenice visits on break from University and she parades her learned credentials and her new man in front of him. His bed bound sister Beeder has taken to watching television all day with the volume up high. Meanwhile his father is torturing pit-bulls on a treadmill; his way of training them to perform better at fights. The town is filling up with strangers all of whom represent something Joe Lon doesn’t have and he torments and degrades in order to feel something, anything. On the other side of town the pitiful Buddy Matlow is once again abusing his position as sheriff. Unable to find himself a woman he resorts to locking them in his jail and having his way with them. Lottie Mae starts off as yet another victim but ends up exacting a terrible revenge. As the novel drinks and drives towards its inevitable conclusion you are left holding your breathe. During one long dark night of destruction Joe Lon finds one heck of a way to cleanse himself.

Crews’ characters are heartbreaking and cruel. In his hands the folks of Georgia county spring to life. You can vividly picture the snake’s dull rattle and the pit bulls as they whine and snap on each others neck. You taste the bootleg whiskey and smell the musky sweat on stained sheets. His unflinching style isn’t for all but if you like your dark side laced with puns and your southern backwaters filled with grimy corners then perhaps Feast of Snakes is worth dipping your toe into.