Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking literary thriller: highly recommended!, 1 Sep 2008
Josie Henley-Einion's debut novel SILENCE defies simple definition, much like its central character. Jackie 'Jack' Harris is a compellingly three-dimensional figure: the novel opens with her arrest (and trial by media) for the murder of a man she claims she found raping her lesbian lover, but the narrative that follows bounces masterfully through the decades, gradually revealing the person behind the tabloid gossip, and how she came to be. Jack is an intensely persuasive creation, not always likeable or admirable, but always believable, thanks to the skill with which her backstory is eked out: the fostered girl who has to be told she's mixed race by another child, the lesbian young woman who hangs on the mores of her early lovers, the drag-king, wife, murderer - all inevitably inadequate, ineloquent labels.
It's a dense book, and there's plenty going on: while gradually building a picture of Jack (not unlike Jack herself), the reader also gets an insight into the perspective of her partner Jimmie, who has her own closetful of skeletons. Throw in the bitchier realities of the lesbian 'scene' (every bit as unforgiving as the straight world), an intriguing subplot involving the gender-defying appeal of internet relationships, and some canny erotica, and the result is a story that carries us through its complex, time-twisting structure easily, as it grippingly works up towards the fateful night of the murder.
Intelligent, unflinching, and surprisingly witty, SILENCE is a novel that asks questions about our cosy perception of stable social, racial, gendered identities, while providing a compulsive and entertaining read. Henley-Einion is one to watch!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable, 22 Nov 2008
Silence is not a book for anyone who is squeamish about the realities of growing up in care homes, alternative lifestyles, abuse (physical and sexual), or violence. Having said that, Silence is a powerful novel precisely because it is not afraid - or ashamed - to look life square in the face and report what it sees.
Jack Harris is a product of institutions: from the care homes she grows up in to the social services that provide her living as an adult. The effects of this institutionalisation interest Jack, not purely in an egocentric way - although it must be said that Jack can be very self-centred - but in how they taint all of us, whether through experience or perception. But this is hardly surprising because institutionalisation has made Jack what she is. This is not to say that it is at the root of her lesbianism, but that it has coloured her outlook on the world in a way that is indelible.
Oh, yes, Jack is a lesbian; and not just a lesbian, but a dyke and even, for a while, a drag king. But, at the heart of it all, she is just another person in search of that ephemeral beast, love. And love comes to Jack in a variety of shapes and packages, from a string of casual lovers to her unconventional marriage. But none of these relationships offers the connection she craves. Love is cherished, suffered, lost, and squandered because, ultimately, love is imperfect.
Eventually Jack meets Jimmie, a young woman with issues and a history of her own. Despite their problems, the secrets they keep from each other, they forge a life together - a life that is irrevocably broken when Jack kills the man responsible for raping Jimmie.
Silence is not an easy novel. It asks a lot of its reader, not only in tolerance, but more so a willingness to look behind the locked door, under the covers, and behind the mask. Silence is about how we communicate - or fail to - with each other, and is a story that stays with you after the final page has been read because the questions it raises have no easy answers.
The book itself is well produced although the text would have benefited from the stern eye of a practised editor. But this is a minor niggle, especially in an age that regards proofreaders as a luxury. The style is fluid and one is quickly immersed in the story, the characters so well drawn that they remain with you long after you turn the last page.
Silence is a novel that deserves to be read, and by as wide an audience as possible. Legend Press should be commended for their courage in publishing this, and the author applauded for making her difficult and not-easily-loveable protagonist someone who not only touches our hearts, but one who commands our respect as well.
Buy it, read it, you won't be disappointed.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!, 19 Aug 2008
I thought this book was absolutely incredible! I couldn't put it down and went through a rollercoaster of emotions with it. I have read many brilliant books over the years and this is definitely up there with them.
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