The Round Tower

A Catherine Cookson Classic

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This is one of those books you just fall into. You keep telling yourself “I’ll read just a few more pages” and hours later you’re still sitting there, reading.

This is a story about classism and betrayal, but it is mostly about finding love where you least expect it. It is possibly one of the best Catherine Cookson novels I’ve read…and she has many. It was also made into a film in 1998.

I think I fell in love with this book because of its easy relatability. It’s an old novel based on family scandal (a word Trinis love) and a rags to riches story. The characters range from upstarts, ‘old money’ and bitter neighbours.

It is set in mid-1950s England and the story weaves around the wealthy Ratcliffe family. The daughter, Vanessa Ratcliffe is the opposite of her stuck-up, selfish family and is a romantic. Unlike her family, she does not believe in marrying for money but instead seeks out love. She thinks she has found it in an old friend of the family who is trapped in a loveless marriage. Instead she becomes pregnant and has to stand the consequences on her own. She refuses to reveal who the father is and her parents, being ‘uppity’ as they are, are sure that the father is Angus Cotton, their maid’s son. They refuse to acknowledge the possibility that an educated, wealthy person could do this to their daughter, so it must be a poor man who preyed on their innocent daughter.

Angus denies it but when Vanessa is shunned by her family, he takes her in and marries her to protect her from a bad reputation. His mother gives her a hard time because she thinks Vanessa is selfish for letting her son Angus take the fall. Angus on the other hand, turns out to be a gentle soul and an ambitious son with vision. He treats her kindly and eventually falls in love with her. He wants to treat her like a queen.

Amidst the wagging tongues of society, her family who has disowned her and trying to fit in with Angus’ family, Vanessa finds her inner strength. She stands by Angus , falls in love with him and together they forge a life of happiness. He shows her he is not the poor, stupid man she thinks he is, even successfully starting his own business.

After many hardships, trials, ups and downs, Angus moves up the ladder from rags to riches and purchases the house next door to the Ratcliffe family. Now that he is on the same social standing as them, Vanessa’s family is forced to acknowledge that Angus is their equal…and that turns out to be a tough pill for them to swallow.

However, it is touching to see how love could break down the wall set by society between the rich and the poor. And it goes to show, that just because someone is poor does not mean they are not progressive.

Banned Books Week is on!

Literature is such a controversial and wonderful thing that over the years, there are many books that have been banned or censored. Now each year, readers across the world celebrate Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read. It is celebrated September 21st-27th.

The thing about a lot of these banned books – they are amazing literary cornerstones…in fact, many of them were made into successful movies! Here are some banned books I’ve enjoyed. Explore and find out for yourself:

• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger – while I thoroughly understand why this book may be an irritating read for an adult, that’s probably because it was written to be read through a teenager’s eyes.
• The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck – he was called a propagandist and a socialist after he wrote this book.
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee – apparently banned for its racial content, profanity, and references to rape…but it’s a classic all the same.
• The Color Purple, by Alice Walker – Up to last December, the fight againt this book was still being waged (in Brunswick County).
• The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding – not considered palatable because people could not deal with the implication that man is little more than an animal.
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• Animal Farm, by George Orwell
• Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
• Native Son, by Richard Wright
• The Call of the Wild (and White Fang), by Jack London

My List of Awesomeness

Not everyone likes to read, but most of us enjoy a great story. What a lot of movie lovers do not know is that many great movies started off as great books, for example The Great Gatsby and The Hunger Games. There are still many books on the shelves that have never been turned into movies and thus the magic of their stories have been left to the enjoyment of readers.

However, I’ve always believed that a good story should be shared with the world, not left hidden away. And that’s why I really, really wish that these books would be made into movies…they’d make spectacular movies! 

Here’s my list of awesomeness:

• The Gunslinger by Stephen King
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• Hell by Olen Butler
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
• The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
• Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
• Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
• Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

Good Stories, Great Adventures

I can’t remember at what age I fell in love with reading but I remember always loving a good story. I learnt from a young age that between the pages of a book is where lots of magical things happen and you meet characters you sometimes feel sad to leave behind when the story comes to an end. Through books, I’ve travelled the world and seen amazing places.

Sometimes I wonder what the world looks like for those who do not read. What does it feel like to never have had crazy adventures with Huckleberry Finn as a child or not know one of the most recognised lines in fiction ("frankly my dear, I don't give a damn") from the book Gone With the Wind?

Nevertheless, I’ve had awesome adventures, and I would like to share with you three of the many books that granted me such wonderful times. Perhaps you may read them also and enjoy your own adventures… 

The Burning Shore

Author: Wilbur Smith

This novel is set during and after World War I.  It is part of the Courtney series written by South African writer Wilbur Smith but it is not the first book in the series. However, it is the first I read. It is a story of a young woman of aristocratic birth Centaine de Thiry whose entire life is turned inside out by World War I.  Pregnant and alone, she enrols as a nurse and boards a hospital ship for south Africa. The ship is attacked by the Germans and Centaine ends up on Skeleton Coast. She is adopted by two San (the first people of South Africa) and learns how to survive in the desert. Through this book, I was able to travel through war torn France to the depths of the African wilderness. 

Golden Fox

Author: Wilbur Smith

Okay, by now you’ve realised I adore Wilbur Smith’s books. This book is also part of the Courtney series and covers the life of Isabella Courtney. You will be part of a whirlwind of affluence and success, which will turn out to be hardships and pain behind a mask, as the entire Courtney family is drawn into the lair of the golden fox. This book allowed me the opportunity to travel through London society, the splendor of Europe and opened my eyes to the effects of apartheid on South African citizens, without having to take an actual history class. The story weaves through South Africa, London, Spain, Russia and Cuba. 

The Far Pavilions

Author: M. M. Kaye

This book tells a tale of British-Indian history. The entire story is set in India when it was a colony of Britain. Ashton, a young boy of British heritage struggles to survive in India after his parents and his nanny dies. He thinks he is an Indian, and later struggles with his identity when he learns he is British. He joins the British army and falls in love with Anjuli, one of the Indian princesses he is ordered to guard. Just like Ashton, Anjuli struggles with her identity. Her deceased mother was half Russian, half Indian. Because of this, Anjuli is considered a half-breed. The princess is given into an arranged marriage which Ashton later saves her from. The entire book is spread across many beautiful places in India and tells the story of colonized India, of marginalization due to race and of forbidden love. It’s an amazing journey to take with Ashton and Anjuli and I got to take it.

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