Burrow into a Book.....

Over the months of July and August I was reading these books above and reviewing them for myself, Suffolk Book League (who also collaborate with Suffolk Magazine) and Waterstones/Amazon/Good Reads. 

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey – A review by Meg Burrows

I had the pleasure of meeting Emma Healy in Ipswich Waterstones at the IpArt festival this year. An incredible author, she presented Elizabeth is Missing with such poignancy and quiet conviction. When she read an extract of her book and explained her inspirations for the story, I cried. Now, for me, that isn’t usual, but I couldn’t help but relate to Maud, Healey’s main character, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia and who consequently propelled me to my own memories of my Grandmother battling Alzheimer’s.

The story follows Maud, who’s slowly straying away from normal life. Her own family wont listen to her and her ramblings, let alone the police. When her focus solely encompasses the question “Where is my friend Elizabeth?” we follow her down memory lane with serious consequences quickly arising. Soon Maud is enveloped into both Elizabeth’s disappearance and that of her sister Sukey, who disappeared back in World War II. 

A riveting read, I found moving between Maud’s daily struggle, her search for Elizabeth and then memories of her sister Sukey very realistic but also propelling – the dynamics of the book were always moving, always propelling you to read on and learn more about both the present day and past mystery. What was also brilliant was seeing the differences and similarities between the two Mauds, young and old.

Not only on a personal level but as a writer, Healey goes after my own heart, focusing on the domestic details of scenarios to paint a bigger picture. How she has got completely into Maud’s head and with such conviction and strength in the voice, is brilliant – the constant reference to the old shopping list, tins of peaches, or how the material of her coat felt or the sounds within a cupboard sounded, takes us right into the heart of the situation with Maud.

Memory sits on a hinge and with it does the reader, eagerly learning who committed the crime all those years ago. I read this book in two days, I couldn’t put it down. It is incredibly enticing and along with Maud you feel the frustration of trying to collect thoughts and memories into something tangible to help solve this long standing mystery. I cannot recommend this book enough, it was so captivating and personal, it is beautifully written and has a real sadness to Maud’s predicament. It is one to read this year folks, for sure.   

Burrow into a Book......

Over the months of July and August I was reading these books above and reviewing them for myself, Suffolk Book League (who also collaborate with Suffolk Magazine) and Waterstones/ Amazon/Good Reads.


The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - a review by Meg Burrows

I am an avid fan of Stardust the film. Seeing pirate sky ships, magical spells, real live stars in the form of Claire Daines and Robert De Niro wearing a frock, is just, well, beautiful.

I never knew until recently that it was written by Neil Gaiman, an author who’s name has been dropped into my ears so many times over the last few years. Throughout University I meant to read his material, but other stories and authors would always get in the way. I constantly passed his adverts on tube walls and funnily enough it was the day after seeing the poster for The Ocean at the End of the Lane ( I got very excited by the imagery used in the advert itself) that I heard my local Waterstones book club was reading his new book. I eagerly bought my copy and for a little while simply stared at it. The cover is delightful and engaging and immediately took me to swimming in the ocean. I already knew that I liked Mr Gaiman – he has brilliant designers working with him.

The book itself starts with a narrator driving away from a funeral to a familiar place and reminiscing over his seventh birthday party; a terrible ordeal where no one came. The farm that he finds himself drawn back to is that of the Hempstock Women, three very influential people (the power of three couldn’t be more poignant in this book) in this mans life. He begins to think of Lettie, a remarkable girl he met growing up and what she did for him. What follows is transportation into memories, dreams and forgotten moments into dangerous strange lands of frightening aliens, beautiful moments of heart warming safety and haunting scenarios of betrayal, confusion and anger.

Throughout reading I kept thinking of Coraline and a real sense of fear from a child’s perspective overtook me. The last time that I had felt such active anger towards a character I think it was when I met the horrid Professor Umbridge for the first time. To hook my emotions so quickly and easily, I give my hat to Gaiman; a man who is very in tune with both his characters and readers but also a man who highlights clearly the idea of whether there is such a thing as an adult or just children pretending to be grown up.

The ease at which Gaiman takes the reader from reality to fantasy is incredibly smooth, yet so vivid at the same time. I absolutely loved the metaphorical execution of re-working memory; cutting away the fragments of the unwanted dressing gown and re-sewing it was brilliant. Memory and deciphering between what is real and what isn’t, is so realistically jumbled; how we change and forget and re-assemble our memories in hope of re-capturing the presence of the moment we are remembering.  On the back of the book there is the quote that is very apt to the whole book;“ they are memories hard to believe, waiting on the edges of things.”

The use of imagery is so distinct and incredible at times and coincides well with this idea of being on ‘the edge’ of reality, dream, memory and safety. I felt fully immersed into a cartoon at one point, especially concerning the characters Ursula and Lettie.

I would highly recommend this book. I know some hardcore Gaiman fans weren’t as positive but as a first time reader I absolutely loved it and I am extremely excited to read more. It was a brilliant balance between fantasy, thriller, drama and it is filled with so many great snippets, like, a memory. I personally feel that it is more a book for adults willing to delve back into their own past than for children; this book is childhood and I think those that have experienced one will get much more from the story; it’s honest, scary, funny, magical and nostalgic but with the freedom to be as memorable as you want it to be.   

Burrow into a Book..........

Over the months of July and August I have been and still am, reading these books above and reviewing them - not just for myself but for Suffolk Book League (who are in conjunction with the Suffolk Magazine) and also I post them onto Waterstones reviews.

She Rises by Kate Worsley – Review by Meg Burrows

A book of two tales set in the Eighteenth Century, She Rises follows the story of young dairy maid Louise Fletcher and fifteen year old Luke.

Louise, who has been warned of the sea’s lure by the loss of her father and brother, finds herself new employment in the naval port of Harwich to the fickle, proud Rebecca, daughter of a wealthy Captain. With its hidden smuggling passages, busy streets, wavering tides and shadowed corridors, Harwich is a labyrinth that Louise learns to unravel and soon begins to love.     

Fifteen year old Luke, after he has been drinking in a local tavern, wakes to find himself in the belly of the Essex, where he is forced into the harsh world of the Royal Navy. Longing for memories gone by and escape from his new sudden brutal environment, Luke quickly learns that the sea will be his maker. Both Luke and Louise are on their own rolling paths, but like the sea, their waves soon collide in a very organic way.

Luke’s story especially grabbed my attention and supported the wonder and atmosphere of the book as a whole; Worsley really heightens the unpleasant, aggressive and realistic side of naval life very effectively and quite quickly I found myself wanting to help the character out of his predicament.

The setting of the Essex farm where we first meet Louise and the port of Harwich felt very nostalgic for me and like Louise, I was transported into strong imagery and a real thirst for the excitement of the sea and its possibilities. At times I found the book to be a little lengthy but overall the use of description and imagery from Worsley was executed well in a very evocative way and I found myself clearly picturing places and people.

The book is essentially focused on a love story but with both characters, Worsley effectively explores themes of identity, gender & survival and how the world you find yourself in can be embellished in excitement and adventure but with great danger and ultimately, great consequence.  The book, with its two engaging voices, dynamic pace and not to mention, enticing front cover, is certainly worth a read this summer. 

Meg Burrows Music

Over the last few weeks I have had the chance to play some lovely gigs all around Suffolk.

On Saturday 2nd August I happily ventured back to The Sweffling White Horse, one of my favourite pubs. With its quirky yet homely feel, low ceilings and lovely wines and ale I felt very relaxed to play a set of both my own songs and covers with the help of my guitarist Jonathan Coy. I felt very proud to come back and actually play some of my own songs on the guitar - the audience in the pub were lovely and supportive and I couldn't have asked for a better night. It was really good to be back at the White Horse, it had been a year since I had played there.

The 3rd August, I found myself at the Hadleigh Eight Bells as part of a charity fundraiser for ICR. It was brilliant to see young Jordan Hay play again - we met at the Spread Eagle open mic a few months ago now and to see how much he has progressed in such a short amount of time is really inspiring. Unfortunately I had to leave fairly soon after my set but I hope the rest of the afternoon went well and successful in raising funds for the charity.

Last Friday, 8th August I organised a gig at The Steamboat Tavern (which is now run by a new landlord, Andy and his wife.) Again, it was another pub that felt really good to go back to after being away travelling. The night was a real success - I decided it would be great to showcase Jordan Hay, Cherise Philips and Nick Brown at the gig as well as having myself and the wonderful Lucy Sampson as features ( check out the links below.) It was great to see so many people there and play some new songs that have recently been written.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQnLsZUgQVg   MEG BURROWS    https://www.facebook.com/MegBurrowsMusic    https://soundcloud.com/m-e-g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5v1eWXQOHY   LUCY SAMPSON     https://www.facebook.com/lucysampsonofficial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lKgLbCYu8Q      NICK BROWN    https://www.facebook.com/SadFolkSongs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0-gFLhC2xw      CHERISE PHILLIPS     https://www.facebook.com/CherisePhillipsMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IBf68VxJ-c         JORDAN HAY     https://www.facebook.com/jordanhaymusic



Tomorrow I am off to perform both music and poetry at Folk East (ahheee exciting!) It really is an incredible festival, if you haven't been before I definitely recommend - I am looking forward to all the other spoken word artists and musicians (Bellowhead, Tilly Dawglish, Lucy Sampson & Jon Hart especially) but also to all the things that makes Suffolk special - the skills in art, craft, ale, food and general loveliness. I might even crack out some face paints so keep an eye as I'm sure I'll write about it on here afterwards.

Latitude Young Writers Showcase

July and August have been busy months.... but here I finally am again to write into the void that is Thingsfromtheburrow.

I was very lucky a few weeks ago to win two briefs via IdeasTap - one was to Mouthy Poets event in Nottingham which I was thoroughly looking forward to (I had seen Deborah Stevenson perform a while before at The Gallery Cafe in London) and the other was a slot to perform poetry at Latitude Festival in my home hood Suffolk.
Due to commitments to my day time job (and because its one of my favourite festivals!) I took the brief for Latitude.
It was a tad surreal to be greeted in the woods by a lone golf buggy who drove me off to the performance entrance but once I found my way into Latitude (back entrance of the comedy tent, felt like a VIP) I felt at home straight away. There was the poetry and literature tent, the bridge, the flags, the tree's, the circus tents, the postcard station, the fairy stalls. Where I was performing was right next door to the kids area which I was blown away by - those dinosaur sculptures....

I am so grateful for IdeasTap and Norwich Writers Centre for the opportunity - it was such a fantastic afternoon and evening and to perform alongside other young, local poets was brilliant. Tim Claire was hosting our stage in the woods, of which he did a very fine job - I'm happy my surname brought him such happiness and opportunity to banter with the crowd. I also got the chance to see Deanna Rodgers perform finally - wow, what a poet! If you get the chance, go see go see folks.
I am about to perform poetry (& music) again at Folk East Festival and can't wait - Latitude got me very much into the festival swing with its flowers, words, colours and people.

NaPoWrimo 25 & 26

25

Take the honey, take it down, hold it in your mouth for a few months, maybe even a few spectacular nights of sweet sweet delight,

but wait until the honeycomb crumbles 

and the flowers have hidden

the queen you have so eagerly served will soon show you

how it is to sting. 

26

The humdingers are in a ding-hum of a situation

with the dong hums wondering which direction

the hum dangs have gone.

If the hum dangs are in a swinger of a turn

then it will only make the dong hums even more of a muddle

which will make the hum dingers the dung

as they have become hum drum 

and very much bung in the eyes of the hum dangs

But the hum dangs are silly, they are the ones in a muddle

the dong hums are silly, they are too curious

and the hum dingers are silly, as they forget they are the ones with the ding.     

NaPoWrimo 21 & 22

21 Starre Road

Lavender lotion on paper skin highlights deep set veins that create life maps of tales and truths and hidden things. I follow them with my wide eyes and I take in the smell of roses and powder and early morning conversations over coffee. She closes her eyes as I brush her hair into waves of memory that ebb and flow.

22

I gave up chocolate for lent

and this is how it went;

I didn't think about it

until the creme eggs wept

chocolate tears onto my tongue

and icing on my teeth -

never was there such delight

at such a sweetly meet.