Mary Paulson-Ellis

This is a difficult book to review. While I really enjoyed the author's writing style and I loved the setting of that cold winter in Edinburgh (I remember it well), the story really didn't work for me.

This is a particularly gloomy book. None of the characters have an easy time of it and there is a real sense of unease throughout, which is emphasised by the settings. I quite liked the different timelines and the way the story jumped about, which I found a bit confusing at first but became used to it and this for me was the best part of the story. I don't mind uncomfortable reads at all but there was no let up. I didn't really connect with any of the characters either, there was nothing endearing about any of them. The repeated mentions of certain things, the brazil nut and the clementine seeds etc., was odd and I didn't think the story needed it, nor did I need reminding of their presence quite so often. And I was completely puzzled by the last line.

In all I found this to be a muddle of a book, it was a bit like being stuck in a deep muddy puddle and I was glad when I finally struggled out of it.… (altro)

I was a big fan of The Other Mrs Walker and The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing, the first two books by Mary Paulson-Ellis. Emily Noble's Disgrace is the third in this series of books about people who die without any obvious heirs but each can be read as a standalone story.

This is the story of two young women, Essie Pound and Emily Noble, and a boarding house in Portobello, Edinburgh's seaside. Essie is a cleaner with a specialist company that cleans up after traumatic and messy deaths. The boarding house contains the body of Isabella Dawson, the owner and a major hoarder. Emily is a PC who comes across Essie and the boarding house in the course of her investigations. The first section is from Essie's point of view, the second is about Emily and the third section, and my favourite, is the story of the boarding house and all its secrets, going back in time through the generations.

This is an intricately plotted read, one which I found really quite complex and cryptic. At times it took a bit of getting my head around but ultimately I loved the way the threads of the past filtered down into the present and the way the author took me way back through the years to make sense of them all. I also particularly enjoyed characters from the previous books popping up here and there.

Paulson-Ellis writes books that are right up my street with unusual and intriguing characters. Family history plays a major part and I loved being able to delve into the past in so much detail. I also really enjoyed the social history in the boarding house section and the conclusion to that part of the story was particularly shocking.

This story of the dead and their remains, both physical and emotional, is, for me, quite unique and the author has, once again, crafted a fascinating story.… (altro)

A group of Great War soldiers is waiting for orders. During the last skirmishes of the war, men are still dying. Will the men receive orders to retreat or advance? Who will live or who will die? There are two strands to ‘The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing’ by Mary Paulson-Ellis and the title refers to the second. A contemporary man in Edinburgh, an heir hunter, finds a pawn ticket amongst the possessions of Thomas Methven, an old soldier who died alone.
This is a detailed story with many layers and many characters introduced as the two strands are told and hesitantly connected. At times the detail became confusing with so many descriptive repetitions I found myself skipping forwards. Paulson-Ellis writes scenes so well – the soldier’s gambling scene with the chicken is totally believable, and her portrayal of the foundling school in NE England is heart breaking. As Solomon tracks the life story of the deceased soldier, we see flashes of his own story, orphaned at seven and sent to live with his grandfather. Though interesting I found this distracting, it took me away from the story of the soldiers and added even more characters and family trees to remember.
The message is that the debts of the past do not disappear. Captain Godfrey Farthing is waiting, always waiting; to live to die, to advance, to retreat. He is simply trying to keep his men safe to the end of the war, which they suspect may come at any time. But Farthing’s intentions may be wrecked by enemy attack, by orders to attack, or by his own men themselves who are confined and bored. ‘A strange peace was coursing through his veins; that terrible calm that comes when a man knows the end is coming, but not in the way he had imagined when he began.’
Gambling is a continuous theme throughout the WW1 strand, and I lost track of the treasures gambled, won and lost, coveted, stolen and hidden. There are 11 soldiers involved, surely too many. Like ‘The Lord of the Flies’, the boredom of the men, their jealousies, petty rivalries and guns come to dominate their world, as if the war is already over. The treasures they gamble can be the smallest thing which to us may seem irrelevant but in war is crucial. Not monetary value as known at home, but representing an emotional or practical value.
Different rules apply during wartime and items that are significant then are cast into the spotlight when they survive across the generations to be found by modern day relatives. I admit to confusion about who was related to who and perhaps the cutting of a few peripheral characters would help. Given my interest in family history and WW1, I expected to love this book but longed for a firmer editing hand.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/… (altro)