Journey From Venice by Ruth Cracknell

I’m loving the Popular Penguin series which is just about everywhere at the moment.  From bookshops, to airports, even in the occasional newsagent.  They are a must-have for any handbag – perfect for sneaking in a quick read on a short train ride, standing in a queue etc.  My most recent acquisition from this series has been Journey From Venice by Ruth Cracknell.  Although it was released nearly a decade ago to much acclaim, it’s just been one of those stories that has missed my radar.  

Although Cracknell passed away only a couple of years after publishing this book, because it’s written in the first voice, I felt like she was alive.  That’s the beauty of a timeless story.  A classic that doesn’t date because its content and sentiment are universally related to.  There are few books that can in all sincerity make me cry – this did.  It’s wit, honesty and elegance that make this story. 

Cracknell and her husband Eric decide to take some well-earned time to travel.  Both having very full and challenging careers for most of their lives, opportunities for spending time with each other were often postponed due to work commitments, which is not unusual in this life.

They decide on Venice as their initial destination before a few weeks in wider Europe and New York.  A few days in, Eric has a seemingly minor blood nose, which somehow leads to stroke, an undiagnosed blood condition and late term cancer.  The story is a sad one, yet Cracknell tells it in such a way that is so sincere, it strikes such a cord of empathy, sympathy and love. 

JUNE 19:  Jonathan goes in to him for the first time.  His father cries deeply. ‘I know why you’re here,’ and for the first time he knows death in his gut.  Then, as with everything else, accepts.  We are in and out, we take it in turns or we all gather about him.  We protect him, we cherish him.  He is surrounded.  

It’s worth mentioning that although the story is in Ruth’s voice, their three children feature prominently also.  All seem to have such a beautiful and strong connection with their father, a joy to read. 

So it seems as though there’s a bit of a grief theme in the books chosen of late.  Whilst I knew the Virginia Lloyd book was of losing a partner, this one took me by surprise and I wonder if that’s why I rate it as more powerful.  I had no expectation of the story, if anything I thought it to be more of a travel narrative, given its title.  Mind you given my travels through Venice earlier in the year, I related to Ruth’s description of the Venetian way of life.  Her descriptions of the city, its chaos and its beauty are so apt.

On the evening of Friday, April 3, we wandered through the Piazza, turned left along by the Canal, past the splendid sculpture of Casanova, up and over the bridge and into the Danieli. We intended on booking a table for dinner the following week.  We also went into Santa Maria della Pieta, Vivaldi’s church, picked up a programme for forthcoming concerts and finally made our destination for that evening La Nuova Grotta, a restaurant down a calle off Riva degli Schiavoni, which I would never have located on my own.  A lovely dinner then a stroll back along the Grand Canal.    

An inspiring and compelling memoir.

The Young Widow’s Book of Home Improvement by Virginia Lloyd

I have a niggling memory of hearing about this book when it was launched because the story was quite unique.  Again standing at the Books Alive table in Readings (Carlton this time!) I picked it up and read the back cover ‘Single at 32, married at 33, and widowed at 34’.  So to the register I went. 

I quite like the way Lloyd tells such a sad story parallel to the renovation works of her home.  Here’s a woman who has let everything go to nurse her husband to death and now needs to start rebuilding her life without him.  The renovation theme is a nice metaphor.

This is the type of book where you know the end of the story before you begin but still feel compelled to go through it.  It feels a bit voyeuristic to read about someone else’s misery and I think you do have to be in a certain frame of mind to get the best out of the book – not sure if I was.    

The story opens with Lloyd conversing with a tradesman. 

“’Would it be all right with ye if I came back and took a photo of this wall, here, y’know for me website?’ asked Jim, the Irish anti-damp expert who had come to access the damage to my home. 

I was flattered, picturing a dazzling ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparative case study, until I realised what he meant.  ‘I haven’t seen it as bad as this in a long time,’ Jim continued softly, gesturing either side of the fireplace in the living room. ‘Any reason ye left it for so long?’

The narrative switches between Lloyd mourning her husbands’ passing, trying to be productive in undertaking home improvements, documenting her husband’s far too rapid passing and finishes up in a more reflective tone.

The rest of my life will always be with John, and without him.  His is a permanent absence that, like negative space, shapes my life.  Sometimes it’s even difficult for me to believe that the history of our private world – from beginning to end, and everything that happened in between – occurred in the space of two years. “

At moments it’s a heart wrench, at moments it’s enlightening and a reminder to appreciate our loved ones.  Lloyd has shared an incredibly personal story with warmth and grace and that’s what makes this a lovely, albeit sad, read.

How To Break Your Own Heart by Maggie Alderson

My how time flies.  I’ve been reading, but not posting.   So a bit of catch up is due. After reading a run of what I call quite ‘heavy’ books, that is, books that require solid concentration I was in need of some light reading.  A book that can be read and enjoyed at face value, not too much analysis, a bit of humour and some wit.  

I’ve long been a fan of the Maggie Alderson novel.  Over the years the likes of Cents and Sensibility and Pants on Fire have provided a great source of light relief.  Yes, they are in that awfully titled category ‘chick lit’ but when in need of girly entertainment, you can’t go past these stories. 

So on the way home from work I stopped in at Readings Hawthorn (becoming too regular an occurrence lately!) and found How to Break Your Own Heart on the Books Alive table. 

It charts the story of Amelia, a woman married to a wealthy wine merchant for fifteen years who arriving at her mid-late 30’s realises that what she wants most is a baby, but her husband doesn’t.

The Alderson novel is never entirely realistic but there are definitely elements of plausibility.  The premise of a woman reaching the age of 37 and suddenly realising the thing she wants most in this world is a baby, is not new.  It’s the other details that just happen to come along – the ridiculously rich Kiki, ABCC instantaneously successful just when Amelia needs an income stream, the sudden appearance of a long ago love – that add the element of fantasy and make the story so readable. 

Wonderfully described characters are really what make the Alderson novel a level above all the other ‘chick lit’ type books.   Lovely and wise old neighbour Hermione, Sonny the gorgeous landscaper who manages to bring Oliver, jaded hairdresser to the stars, to his knees were just a couple of my favourites.  One scene where Kiki arranges a dinner party with surprise guests was a classic, filled with humour and entertainment and then finishing up with quite a profound point. 

The joy of the book is that the belly laugh lines are interspersed amongst other moments.  “I knew I still attracted men’s glances as I walked down the street, but perhaps, I suddenly thought, I was in danger of turning into one of those tragic women who look like hot stuff from the back and then turn around to be a scary old disappointment.’

How To Break Your Own Heart is not the best Alderson novel I’ve read, but I was far from disappointed. It’s a great piece of escapism.