Crooked Heart: ‘My book of the year’ Jojo Moyes

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This is my first foray into Dunmore’s writing (she won the 1996 Orange Prize—now the Women’s Prize for Fiction—for her book A Spell of Winter). Her writing is so adroit! See the stories that these few words paint: A tender story of survival, loss, the necessity for love, and how an unlikely pair can end up forming a powerful team.

Crooked Heart | Lissa Evans

That was lovely to watch; two completely different characters, who don’t entirely understand each other but who realise they can help each other and instinctively do just that. It worked so well because those two characters were flawed and so very, very believable, and because Lissa Evans wrote of them with wit, with empathy and without a hint of sentimentality. As days go by, Louise realizes that she needs more from her pathetic life, so when Johnnie finds himself in trouble with the mob, she decides to go with him into "hiding". Meanwhile, we read about Anna's growing up and what she learns about life, death and the appreciation of a stable household with Paul and her stepmother. I'm so glad I read this novel Thanksgiving week, as it's been quite a while since I was emotionally invested in a book's characters enough to feel a profound gratefulness to the power of love. So many books on World War II and London's Blitz are sentimental and tired, but Lissa Evans's is beautifully moving because the war is second to the desperate characters. Parts of the book are funny, while other parts provoke anxiety on behalf of a little boy named Noel who is preternaturally intelligent and sadly abandoned. But the game of getting by is not always on the up-and-up. And the London bombings do happen and the war IS a major player in their lives. And to say more of the story from here on would spoil the fun of reading the book. So just get it and read it. And hopefully you’ll find it as fresh a take on WWII as I did.When I finished reading Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans, my first thought was that it reminded me of a cross between Cold Comfort Farm, I Capture The Castle and Goodnight Mr Tom. Those aren't comparisons I would ever make lightly - in fact, it's about as strong an endorsement you could get from me. I appreciate the theme of this book. Who benefits from war and can benefiting from war be moral? Most people would first think about major war profiteers; for instance, large companies that make and supply arms, tanks, planes, anything used for fighting. Not Evans. She writes about the minor war profiteers, the small time swindlers trying to make a bit of extra cash. This is an interesting idea but the execution of it in this book just didn't work for me. The characters were well-drawn but they were all a bit too silly. This reminds me of watching British comedy shows from Monte Python to Absolutely Fabulous. Everyone in the room with me is laughing except for me. Same with this book. I didn't laugh when I knew I was supposed to laugh, I wasn't charmed when I was supposed to be charmed. Perhaps the cold Colorado winter has frozen my heart.

Love Your Crooked Neighbor With Your Crooked Heart How to Love Your Crooked Neighbor With Your Crooked Heart

Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.

Both darkly funny and deeply touching —a crooked journey, straight to the heart.’ The New York Times In short, this a poignant as well as witty historical fiction where the author has successfully as well as brilliantly depicted the dark side of the war in London, where survival meant the only thing. GC: I’m romantic that way also. I think that in times of despondency that art has a way of speaking to us with a certain resonant frequency—many times we’re in so much pain that we’ve stuffed our fingers in our ears. Art has a way of arresting our attention and bringing us to a place of contemplation and reflection. Our art is a way of saying “you’re not alone,” or “me too.” Art is a way of mourning with those who mourn. But I also think in times of peace and normalcy that art is crucial as a continual reminder of our humanity, of our dignity—a way of bringing us closer to our joys and speaking of our sorrows, and so art is always absolutely crucial and essential and necessary. It’s easy to take it for granted when the world isn’t crumbling around us. But art—good art, anyway­— always calls us to be our better selves. Crooked Heart, while also delving into the seriousness of war without going as far as to take us to the battle lines, is also instilled with a dark humor that I feel is most appropriate for that day and age. Because even though there is sadness that is saturated into every nook and cranny and hangs over the city like a pall, there’s still some humor to be found and Evans characters use it as a coping mechanism to get through these trying times. Wonderful, wonderful novel, I’m so very glad I took the chance on this obscure little gem of a read.

Crooked Heart: ‘My book of the year’ Jojo Moyes Kindle Edition Crooked Heart: ‘My book of the year’ Jojo Moyes Kindle Edition

I was born in December 1952, in Yorkshire, the second of four children. My father was the eldest of twelve, and this extended family has no doubt had a strong influence on my life, as have my own children. In a large family you hear a great many stories. You also come to understand very early that stories hold quite different meanings for different listeners, and can be recast from many viewpoints. Noel’s mourning his godmother Mattie, a former suffragette. Wise beyond his years, raised with a disdain for authority and an eclectic attitude toward education, he has little in common with other children and even less with the impulsive Vee, who hurtles from one self-made crisis to the next. The war’s provided unprecedented opportunities for making money, but what Vee needs—and what she’s never had—is a cool head and the ability to make a plan. The chaotic, semi-feral teaming up of Vera and Noel is as sparky and funny as ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ and as charming and touching as ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’, but then every now and again comes the vertiginous feeling of peering into something unutterably, dangerously sad. Everybody, and I mean everybody, is getting this for Christmas. Louisa Young, author of ‘My Dear, I Wanted to Tell you’ But when Mattie’s mind began to fail, when she began to lose her memory and to act oddly, Noel struggled to cope. He didn’t ask for help, because he knew that Mattie wouldn’t want that. Tragedy ensued. Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ."”

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Regardless, I still remain a devoted fan to Helen Dunmore. My favorite book written by her is Talking to the Dead (1996). Her more recent titles include Counting the Stars (2008) and The Betrayal (2010). Evans has written six novels for adults: Spencer's List, Odd One Out, Their Finest Hour and a Half (now filmed as Their Finest [2]) Crooked Heart (which with Their Finest Hour and a Half was long-listed for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction), Old Baggage [3] and V for Victory. I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland. Letters string arrangement by Rob Moose; Pleasant Valley Reservoir strings arranged by Rob and Shane Leonard. Noel, a ten year old boy, has been raised by his eccentric, ex-suffragette godmother Mattie. In addition to his normal schooling, Mattie always took the time to give what she referred to as “proper schooling” which included discussions on the obscure and essay topics that gave you more reasons to think such as “What Is Freedom?” and “All Things are Difficult Before They Are Easy”. Mattie imbued in him her particular understanding of the world causing him to develop the most intriguing personality making him an immediate addition to my favorite quirky children in literature shelf. In addition to the impending war causing the residents of London and its outskirts to be constantly on their toes, Noel is attempting to handle the seriousness of Mattie’s decline into senile dementia. Instead of evacuating London with the rest of the children, he opts to stay with Mattie to take care of her knowing that soon she’s not going to be able to take care of him much longer let alone herself. The introduction of Noel and Mattie is fantastically succinct and encompasses the Prologue alone. It set an amazing tone and heightened expectations for the rest of the story. I’m so very pleased to say that it never disappointed and only continued to impress me.