Role Models - Fascinating Fictional Females

I'm not sure if I'd call myself a feminist - I'm not that into the whole women-against-men rhetorics to be honest but I'm happy to confess that I love nothing more than a book with a strong female protagonist. Like Katniss Everdeen or Scarlett O'Hara. I like my women, like I like my G&T - strong and unapologetic. 

And with no further ado, here's my list of books that features strong, sassy females who make for great (albeit fictional) role models and mentors: 

"Fear of Flying" by Erica Jong

"The Group" by Mary McCarthy

"Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles

"The Best of Everything" by Rona Jaffe

"Gone With The Wind" by Margaret Mitchell

"A Vision of Loveliness" by Louise Levene

"The Stars in the Bright Sky" by Alan Warner

"The Summer Without Men" by Siri Hustvedt

Review: "The Sopranos" by Alan Warner

This Christmas I spent quite a few hours with old friends. Not the friends I went to school with but friends that I have met in the library, on the pages of Alan Warner's excellent novel "The Sopranos". As some of you may know, I absolutely love this book and I have read it several times and reading it again, under the duvet while on vacation was a real treat!

In a port town somewhere in Scotland a group of teenage girls from the Catholic school Our Lady of Perpetual Succour are preparing to go on a school trip to the big city. They are all in the choir and will be competing in a choir competition with a less than saintly intent to lose so that they can come back to the port town the same evening. Why, you might ask. Because a submarine is coming into harbour and they are hoping the there will be sailors aplenty in the local disco. Yes, these are not your stereotypical Catholic choirgirls. More like girls gone wild.

The sopranos are at the heart of mischief, Finn (the Cooler), Manda, Kylah, Chell and wee Orla are teenagers in a some forgotten corner of a windy country. Poverty, cheap alcohol and teenage pregnancy is the order of the day and education and a future beyond the harbour town is something that they can only dream of. Not that they do - oh no, these girls have way too much fun to worry about things such as the future. They run the school and the Mantrap (the local disco) and spend their time worrying about boys, drinks and Orla's cancer treatment.
As these wild young women go on their trip to the big city, they defy all rules. Their fizzy drinks bottles are filled to the brim with alcohol, they have changes of clothes (mini-skirts, Doc Martens, the works) and make-up in their bags and they are up to no good. The story follows them as they head out on adventures and get to know each other and the stuck-up, prissy and rich Kay Clarke better.

It is a tour de force through the mind of teenage girls who do no worry about boundaries, grades, school or the future. They are at the same time both women and children but their behaviours are fully adult and at times rather.... too adult. As they mix vodka and Happy Meals, school uniforms and piercings, the reader gets a unique peek into that teenage girl world.

When I first read this book, I was the same age as the girls in the book and I have grown up with them, in a sense. It is also one of those books that shaped my interest in literary fiction because this book is not an easy read. Warner's girls speak in Scottish dialect and the first time I read it in original language, I did have to look up a few words to suss out the meaning of the strong dialect. Technically, I find that the strength of the book is in the characters. Each character has a distinct story and a distinct set of values and beliefs. The differences between the girls are the catalysts for interesting tensions that make this novel rise above so many other books. It is an outstanding book, don't deprive yourself of it.

Read it if: You can... the dialect can be a challenge. Otherwise try finding it on audiobook. It is a unique reading/listening experience.

For other reviews of "The Sopranos", try:

Novel Suggestions

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated books - must reads!

The topic of this week's Top Ten Tuesday is Underrated Books as in books you can't believe aren't more popular, books that are more obscure and so on. I love this topic. There are so many books that I can't believe aren't getting more hype or that I love but that have not received the acclaim that I think they deserve. So here we go - don't forget to pop by The Broke and The Bookish to join in!

10) The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Many of you know the musical and have probably seen either that one or the film - but have you read the book? Otherwise, I can highly recommend it. It is a short but great story about Christine Daaé with the amazing voice, her childhood sweetheart and the opera phantom who is in love with her. It is not your typical love story but it is a really sweet and sometimes scary story.



9) Ronja, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
One of the best children's book ever about the strong, independent girl Ronja who lives in the forest. If you haven't read it yet, you have to get it now. It is a classic.



8) Havana Real by Yoani Sanchez
This is a non-fiction book, a collection of blog posts from the Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, giving us a glimpse into the life of a family in Cuba who are struggling to make ends meet even though they are among the well-off. Yoani is a really cool woman with a strong voice and lots of opinions. Amazing book, was completely unable to put it down once I had started it.



7) The Exception by Christian Jungersen
A deeply disturbing book about adult bullying the work place. The point-of-view keeps changing between the characters which makes it really difficult to be black and white about who are the evil ones and who are the good ones. It is a bit of a thriller, a suspenseful read that deserves many readers!



6) Namedropper by Emma Forrest
This was one of my favourite YA books when I was a teenager. It is a coming-of-age story about a Viva whose world seems to be populated with characters - from the gorgeous best friend Treena to her gay uncle Manny with the Liz Taylor obsession this book takes us from North London to California and back as we follow Viva learning a thing or two about life. It is full of pop culture references and my 15 year-old self loved it.



5) Dewitt, Helen: The Last Samurai
Ludo is a gifted child, a child prodigy, a kid for whom learning is the best way of entertaining himself. So while his mother struggles to keep up with the five-year-olds wish to learn Japanese and make enough money to get them through the day, Ludo wonders who his father is. A really beautiful book with great characters that you cannot help but love.



4) Stolen Spring by Hans Scherfig
This on is a Danish classic, a must-read on the Danish high school curriculum and for a very good reason: it is a real treasure! A literary feast of amazingness! It is the story of a group of school boys in a very disciplined school where the teachers use their powers to degrade the students - especially the latin teacher Blomme is a real nasty piece of work and the book centers on the mystery of his death. If you are a fan of classic school novels from early 1900s, then this one is for you.



3) The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce
Forget about Twilight and House of Night and all those paranormal romance vampire books that are flooding the market at the moment. This is as much of a vampire classic as Bram Stoker's Dracula, if you ask me, except they aren't vampires - they are vampyres, darkangels that feed on souls. When Ariel's mistress, the beautiful Eoduin is taken by a darkangel, she follows her to try to free her from the vampyre's clutches.



2) Nordkraft by Jacob Ejersbo
If you liked the film "Trainspotting", you will love this book. Ejersbo's novel is a masterpiece about living a hard life full of drugs, alcohol and abuse on the bottom of society. This is a book about the people we see on the street and that makes us thankful for our lives. It is so gripping and thought-provoking that it moved me to tears.



1) The Sopranos by Alan Warner
One of my favourite books (it has been for years) is this fantastic tour de force about a group of Catholic school girls on an outing from their small village to a larger town for a choir competition. The amount of mischief (doesn't cover it at all!) they get into is disturbing - getting drunk, getting their uniforms stolen... it is all just the beginning of the adventure.

Top Ten Tuesday: From book to film

How many great books out there have been ruined by being made into a film? It's like the stars, you can keep counting but you will never get to the final tally because there are so incredibly many. However, there are a few successes as well and I have to admit that I often get really excited when it is announced that a book I like will be made into a film. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topics is just that: books that I would like to see made into films!

10) The Eleniad series by David Eddings. An absolute favourite series of mine that features knights, stubborn horses, cool ladies and lots and lots of action.

9) The Book, The Film, The T-shirt by Matt Beaumont. Advertising agency filming a commercial with two divas, lots of crazy assistants, a boss with a major ego and PA who is doing more than her share of the work. And that is only the beginning. Would be a great comedy!

8) The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff The history of the mormon church and the mystery of a murder.

7) The Exception by Christian Jungersen Adult women in an office environment bullying each other... Could be made into a really thrilling, dark movie.

6) Anything steampunk. I am only just getting to know this genre but already I can see that there is huge potential for great films here!

5) The Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Who's fooling who? And why? Set in a dark England full of crooks, this could be a great costume drama.

4) The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce. When Ariel is abducted by a huge winged creatures and taken to his castle to serve as maid to his ghost wives, Ariel has to overcome to her own shyness and fear to help the ghosts become free of their captor. One of the best paranormal/fantasy romance/action books I have ever read.

3) The Sopranos by Alan Warner. A Catholic girl school choir on a crazy road trip - should make for a great movie!

2) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Harry Potter for adults - what more can you want?

1) We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver The nature or nurture dilemma is at the heart of the scary novel about a child who becomes a high school killer and his mother who seeks to understand why.

Which books would you like to see made into films?

Top Ten Tuesday: Welcome to my family!

Tuesday means that is it time for a Top Ten!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish - http://www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/ - a wonderful blog, that you have to visit.

This week the topic is characters in books that we wish were in our family! So here we go:

10)William of Baskerville from Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose". It would be so cool to have this utterly intelligent and wise man as an uncle. The kind of uncle that will discuss the difficult things in life with you and always be there with kind advise.

9) Mr. Bingley from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". Even when his sisters are behaving rudely and being openly hostile to the girl he is in love with, he is still a good brother to them and take care of them. A very patient brother indeed!

8)Tamar from Iris Murdoch's "The Book and The Brotherhood". She goes through a lot and comes out stronger. She is a really cool girl - would love for her to be my cousin and friend.

7)Ariel from the "Darkangel" trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce. She puts her life at risk to save her best friend Eoduin and both my sister and I adore her and would be happy to welcome her as a third sister.

6)Anne Shirley from L. M. Montgomery's series. Would love to have her as an extra little sister!

5)Holly Golightly from Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Would love to have her as a cousin - she would be sure to introduce me to really cool people and get invitations to great parties. Only drawback is that it would probably be difficult not to be a little jealous of her as she is so popular and admired.

4)Cassandra from Dodie Smith's "I Capture the Castle". Cassandra would be a great sister, she is so sensitive and clever and I think you could have some really great girls' night in evenings with her.

3) Mr Bennett - again from Pride and Prejudice. He has a special place in my heart and I think he would be a really cool uncle with a great sense of humour.

2) Kay from Alan Warner's "The Sopranos" and "The Stars in the Bright Sky". If I could have an extra sister (I also have one and she is amazing!) I would go for Kay. She reminds me of myself and I have loved her from the very first time I read "The Sopranos".

1)The Weasley family from the Harry Potter series. Can't imagine a more loving, caring family. I would love to be able to spend Christmas with these people - would make for the perfect bunch of uncle, aunt and cousins!

Who would you like to add to your family?

Top Ten Tuesday: Dazzling Debuts

Right so after a few intense working weeks with lots of traveling and on the homefront lots of ilness (why do those things happen at the same time? Flying with a migraine is very very unpleasant...)
Things seem to be going better now and what better way to celebrate that than to participate in today's Top Ten Tuesday?
This fantastic meme was created at The Broke and The Bookish - http://www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/ - a blog that you must visit!

This weeks subject is Favourite debut novels (from any author, any year). I have not included one-hit-wonders because that just didn't feel fair...
Here we go:

10) Evelyn Waugh: Decline and Fall
Satirical and extremely funny, making a fool of almost every character in the book, Waugh somehow manages to make this more than a comedy. A great reminder of all the trouble, naivety, pretentioness, laziness and greed can get you into.

9) Tamora Pierce: Alanna: The First Adventure
Pierce demonstrated from this first novel about Alanna and the kingdom of Tortall that she has a gift for making fantasy worlds come to life. From this book onwards the world of Alanna, her friends and family become better and better.

8) Alan Warner: Movern Callar
I think cool is the word to describe this novel about Morvern, a Scottish girl who steals her dead boyfriends unpublished novel and goes on a lifechanging journey.

7)Martin Amis: The Rachel Papers
Have just read this one and will review it this week. A really good novel about a teenage guy who falls in love or becomes infatuated with the slightly older and infintely more sophisticated Racel.

6) Dodie Smith: I Capture the Castle
A magical coming-of-age tale about Cassandra and her bohemian family. Smith later wrote "101 Dalmatians" and I still feel cheated that she did not write more.

5) F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
More of a literary institution than a novel really. This book came to define an age and I think almost everyone who have taken a literature class has heard about it.


4) Michel Faber: Under the Skin
A seriously scary and uncomfortable read that nonetheless is fascinating and hard to put down. My stomach still turns when I think about it...

3) Karen Blixen: Seven Gothic Tales
Originally published under the name Isak Dinesen to disguise the gender of the author, this collection of short stories is a masterpiece from one of the greatest storytellers ever!

2) J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
From the very first HP novel, Rowling had her Hogwarts universe created down to the very last hair on Dumbledore's head. The magic began in this book which certainly did not seem like the work of a beginner!

1) Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility
This one is defitnitely one of the best debut novels ever. Full of emotions with enchanting, real characters and a great plot. The strength of this novel is the characters and many authors can only dream of bringing to life characters with as much skill and charm as Austen does in this her debut novel.

So which ones are your favourite debut novels of all times?

"Lolita" - The Age of Innocence Lost

Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" had been on my TBR list for years and finally it landed on my doorstep the other day, thanks postman :-) Last week I was traveling with work so had to spend lots of time on a plane and in airports - which means lots of time to read! Lovely. I brought Lolita with me and from the very first sentence I was pulled into the grotesque, distorted world of Humbert Humbert, the infamous key character in "Lolita".
The story is well-know, so well-know that the name Lolita has come to signify girls who have sexual power over men much much older than themselves. At least I thought that I knew the story but really I just had a vague idea about it. So here is a short summary for those of you who know the story as little as I did.
Humbert Humbert grew up in Europe and ends up living with a widower and her teenage daughter. He is attrached to and becomes enthralled by the girl .
o the teenage girl Dolores - whom he nicknames Lolita - and in a desperate attempt to stay near her, he marries her mother. When his wife dies, Lolita has no other adult in the world to trust and so Humbert gets a power over her that she can hardly escape.
Humbert Humbert is attracted to children - girls from the age of nine whom he classifies as nymphets in an unconscious try to glorify his obsession with them. No no he is no villain, he is only interested in girls who encourage it themselves... This is a villain who does his utmost to conceal the hideousness of his mind, the awful crimes he commits towards a orphaned girl. Sometimes he does this so well that as a reader it is easy to identify with him - he reflects so very little on the impact his selfish behaviour has on Lolita. Lolita has grown up wild, going her own way and acting very much like a spoiled teenager who believes herself an adult - and then every now and then her facade breaks and we get a glimpse at a little girl.
It is a heartbreaking book in many ways about a man who forces adulthood on a teenage girl who doesn't know herself and her own boudaries and who are more or less dependent on him. At the same time it is the story of a child who gets an immense power over an adult and who in the ends brings about his downfall.
"Lolita" in some ways reminds me of "The Sopranos" by Alan Warner - both books tell the tale of the difficulty of growing up and of girls being forced to face their own sexuality.
It is a beautiful book and touching and if you haven't read it, please put it on your TBR list.

"The Stars In the Bright Sky" - The adventures of the bright and the dim

During my teenage years my absolute favourite book was "The Sopranos" by Alan Warner. It was an epiphany when I first read it b
because the language, the topics, the girls it described was so incredibly different from the books I normally read. These Catholic girls from Our Lady of Perpetual Succour were the original ladettes, forever in pursuit of mischief and a good time. When I found out that Warner had written a sequel, I had to have it. And this morning I turned the last pages of "The Stars in the Bright Sky" on the bus to work. It was amazing - I am already looking forward to reading it again, as it is such a fascinating tale. The girls are the same Scottish wildcats as in "The Sopranos" - only they have matured and have grown ever so slightly apart. Finn has moved to London to study philosophy, Manda has become a single mother who drinks too many Guiness Extra Colds, Kylah and Chell are still living in the town and Kay is studying architecture. Their lives have taken different turns but now they are meeting up in Gatwick Airport to go on vacation together - a last minute deal, possibly to Magaluf, definitely not to Turkey. With them is posh, English Ava - Finn's friend from uni. Altogether a dangerous cocktail.
However, things do not go according to plan. A disappearing passport, much too much luggage, too many drinks all play a big part in these few days that the girls spend holidaying in the airport. I won't go into details about the plot, as I don't want to give away anything.
One of the aspects of the book that I really like - or am fascinated by - is the "drinks lists" that Warner uses to describe the girls. He lists what the girls drink and the drinks are obvious pointers as to who they are. So Manda is constantly drinking her Guiness Extra Cold - though at one point mixing it with champagne - while Kay mostly drinks red wine. For some reason this appeals to be - possibly because the drinks are so predictable and and in their predictability confirms how well I know these girls.
But if you haven't read "The Sopranos" and met these wonderful Scottish lassises then get both "The Sopranos" and "The Stars in the Bright Sky" and settle down for an amazing ride with a bunch of ladies and ladettes who at times act quite dum but always shine brightly.