Book Review of 'Elizabeth Is Missing.'

I kept trying to ignore this book as I walked past it on the shelf of my local bookshop. But the urgency of the title stayed in my mind for days. I kept repeating to myself 'Elizabeth is Missing, Elizabeth is missing', until I finally had to find out where Elizabeth had went. Crime fiction and mystery drama are my least favourite forms of fiction but I found myself captivated by the mysteries which surrounded ninety year old Maud. In the prologue, Maud discovers a compact mirror buried in her garden which introduces two unsolved mysteries which are woven together in the novel.

In the opening chapters, Maud appears to be an ordinary old woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She has to write herself notes to jug her memory although she can't remember writing them. She forgets how well supplied her cupboards are with tinned peaches and has to write down not to 'buy any more tinned peaches.' But there's one note which keeps telling her that her friend Elizabeth has disappeared. Maud has no idea where Elizabeth is and she helplessly sets out to find her. She can't remember the last time she saw Elizabeth or the clues which might help her solve the mystery. The narrative flits between present and past tense. Set just after the Second World War, Maud's memories take her back to the mysterious and somewhat shady disappearance of her sister, Sukey. Maud's memory is now as clear as crystal as she remembers all the events which surrounded Sukie's disappearance. She gives the reader clues as to what happened to Sukie but it's up to us to solve the crime.

The novel has some wonderfully vivacious and loveable characters: from the gibberish mad woman to Doug the lodger, who thinks he's in American movies, It is a very easy read, a page turner and what Jonathan Coe called 'one of those mythical beasts' as it very difficult to put the book down. The story is told in a very quirky way as Maud is rather eccentric; she collects fingernails and old earrings, anything which might help her find Sukie. Not often do we read a narrative written from the view point of a ninety year old senile women and so the story is deeply touching and at times very sad. What is most striking about the book is the fragmentation and degeneration of the human mind and I experienced Maud's anguish and frustration at not being able to remember. The book gave me chills when I realised that I too might end up like Maud.

The only draw back for me as a reader is that the ending is rather rushed and becomes somewhat predictable and unbelievable. But this did not stop me loving the novel and I praise Emma Healey for her skill, sensitivity and originality. As a English Literature student we are often discouraged from reading popular mass literature and taught to shy away from literary trends but 'Elizabeth is Missing' is the perfect example of why some books are best selling novels - they are so bloody brilliant!

Nine lives: the books which have shaped my life.

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY!

Illustration by Dick Vincent.

I have always loved World Book Day since I have been a child. Dressing up as a book character was one of my favourite things to do and I always was one of the characters from the Brother's Grimm tales. I remember how rich I felt when I received those free book tokens they gave you and I anxiously emptied my money box, wondering how much I could spend on books. I devoured books as a child, especially books about animals. I read beneath the table in maths class (really wished I had of paid attention though, when it came to GCSE time!) and managed to get through a book a day. Almost ten years later not much has changed. I still love to read more than ever. I have read a lot growing up and as this is my twentieth book year, I have complied a list of the books that have most influenced me over the course of my life.

1. The Bible:There are, in fact, sixty-six books between this old cover. From history, to spirituality, to poetry, to philosophy, The Bible has always been my guiding light. There is such vivid, prosaic descriptions, flowing lyric and it is full of wisdom. The King James Version, translated in 1611, is my favourite version.

2. 'The Essential Works' of Jennifer Johnston: I first stumbled upon Johnston's work the bookshelves of my old school and from then on, I realised I wanted to be a writer. Johnston has been described as 'The Miss Havisham of Irish Literature,' which, in my opinion, is the best review an author can ever receive. Her style is sporadic, musical, it flows and bends, dips into the unconscious and the complexities of the human condition. She is my favourite novelist.

3. 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates: I read this book quite young and I was greatly influenced by the mundane prospect of adult life: 9-5 jobs, a mortgage, a family, and losing yourself in the middle of all these things.It is quite adult in it's contents and rather bleak as it's message basically tells us that we will never escape the suburban trap, that no matter how different we think we are in college, we all face the same fate. It made me realise that we are all the same and that life is only coloured by the little, beautiful things. It's the attention to detail.

4. 'The Catcher in the Rye,' by J.D. Salinger: I don't think any adolescent hasn't been influenced by this misanthropic classic.  As a 'misunderstood' eighteen year old, in a world of 'phonies,' I thought everything was 'corny.' I could quote the whole book to you and I just wanted to run away and marry Holden Caulfield. The last line of the book is my particular favourite, 'Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.' At eighteen, Holden was the only person who got me. But two years later, I am glad to look back and see that 'The Catcher in the Rye' is such a juvenile perception of the world and I like seeing how much I have changed from when I first read it.

5. 'Flappers and Philosophers' by F.Scott Fitzgerald: When I was seventeen, I was introduced to a world of art, music, poetry and culture. I saw beyond my own working class background, that other people lived differently and was possible to do anything. Fitzgerald's prose is so elegant that it made me want more. It made me want a beautiful life. 

6. 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte: Jane is my favourite narrator. She is quiet, timid, observing everything from afar. What I love about Jane is her fierce little character, her loyalty, her devotion to morality and her ability to be content in whatever circumstance she is faced with. Her enduring love for Mr Rochester always haunts me.

7. The dairies of Sylvia Plath: I am not a big fan of Plath's prose or poetry but I hold her diaries in great esteem. They are freely written unlike the constraints and rigidity of her poetry. What inspired me about this work is Plath's hardiness, her willing to make it and her attention to details. All in all, it's just like reading another girl's diary!

8. 'A girl is a half-formed thing' by Eimear McBride: Although I did not like the subject of the book at all, it has revolutionised writing and shown me that there is no 'wrong' way to write. The work cannot be described as stream of consciousness, it is beyond that. It begins with conception and ends in death, everything in between is the workings of the human mind. I greatly respect McBride's style as it has provided me with a freedom in my own writing. 

9. 'Tess of the D'urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy: Perhaps it is a rather obvious choice but I read it at a time of my life when I had done something awful and was paying the consequences. This book didn't influence me as much as it made me sympathise with the heroine. I felt like Tess was a friend, that we were both going through our own struggles: she told me hers and I told her mine. 

***

I hope you all enjoy world book day! I'm celebrating by having a literary cocktail night with friends from my literature course and we're going to experiment with some of the recipes from Tequila Mockingbird.