Louise Beech

The book starts with Ben who is volunteering at a lion sanctuary in Zimbabwe and from there we weave between past and present, Zimbabwe and the U.K. as the story of Ben and Andrew’s relationship unfolds. A story rife with secrets, coincidences and betrayals as Ben navigates trouble in his own family – including coming out to his homophobic alcoholic father - and Andrew deals with being only child who has lost his mother and never knew his father.

Andrew is a writer and the book he is working on - also called The Lion Tamer Who Lost – adds a magical feeling to the novel as elements from Ben and Andrew’s life make their way into the story. I love the book within a book idea and Beech really made it work here with each chapter starting with a quote from the book.

When some devastating news is given to the couple it forces them to re-evaluate not only their relationship but their whole lives. It added a twist I had not expected and I doubt I would have picked up the book if I had but Beech treats it with such tenderness and care by the end of the book I was glad I kept going.

A difficult story about family, love, connection and belonging that is well worth your time.… (mehr)

Using words like compelling and gripping, the same sort of adjectives I would use to describe a work of fiction I had enjoyed, seem wrong when talking about Eighteen Seconds. These are people's lives, after all, and although I don't know Louise Beech personally, I've read her books in the past and seen enough of her through social media to feel a kind of familiarity. However, compelling and gripping this book is, and often shocking too.

This memoir begins with the author's mother throwing herself off the Humber Bridge. This act and what follows it are truly astonishing and utterly devastating for Beech and her three siblings, who not only have to deal with the aftermath but also with their complicated feelings about their mother. Beech then tells the story of their childhood and their (quite possibly) narcissistic mother, alongside that of the catastrophic events of 2019 leading into the global pandemic and lockdown of 2020.

As you might expect, as Louise Beech is predominantly a novel writer, this is a beautifully written and eloquent family memoir which left me wanting more at the end of each chapter. It's also a hard book to read at times and I felt like I read much of it with a lump in my throat, feeling incredibly sad for the extremely difficult childhoods that the siblings experienced. It's uncompromising in its honesty, it's raw and brutal, but underneath it all is the humour and the love that the siblings share.

Good memoirs aren't always easy to come by for me but Eighteen Seconds is an excellent memoir. It's such a brave act to put your entire life down on paper and to share it publicly, and I hope that it proved to be cathartic (given the end of the book I feel it might have been). It's a heartbreaking book but one which I'm privileged to have been able to read.… (mehr)

Eighteen Seconds by Louise Beech is a powerful and moving memoir. Beautifully written and painfully honest, this will stay with you long after you finish it.

I come to memoirs like this from two perspectives. First is trying to understand another person's life, their ups and downs. The second perspective is coupled to that, which is finding the things that are relatable to my life or those I care about. This memoir is richly rewarding from both perspectives.

Sometimes a book comes along that lets people know that whatever trauma or hardships they have experienced, they are not alone. This isn't a comparison, this isn't a game of trauma hierarchy like someone who commented on one of my other reviews was doing. This is about acknowledging and empowering as many people as possible, about offering a space within which someone can feel valued and heard.

I would highly recommend this to readers who enjoy memoirs in general as well as anyone who is still wrestling with events from their own lives. You are not alone, we are not alone, and Beech has given eloquent voice to many of the feelings we share.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)

I thought I’d begin the new year with a book by an author new to me. I will certainly be reading more written by Louise Beech.

Veronica Murphy is a widow and mother of a neurodivergent son. Twenty-year-old Sebastian has autism. He is high functioning but struggles with his sexual urges: because of misconceptions and prejudices, it is difficult for him to have relationships with people. Veronica decides to hire an escort to have sex with her son. That escort is Isabelle, a student nurse who is working as an escort because she desperately needs money. Of course, there are unforeseen consequences for all.

Characters are complex and flawed. Veronica is selflessly devoted to her “beautiful, complex, challenging, difficult, wonderful boy” and fiercely protective of him, perhaps too protective. Sebastian is perceptive but brutally honest and has difficulty with changes to routine. Isabelle is loving and compassionate but has self-esteem issues and is sometimes naïve. The point of view of each of these three is provided so the reader is able to see that each faces a dilemma. Veronica, for example, wonders whether she has made the right decision for her son, and Isabelle also has to contend with the choices she makes.

When I first read the promotional blurb, I wondered how realistic the plot would be. I was pleased to see that the author took pains to detail characters’ motivations so that the bringing together of these characters is believable. And then this inciting incident marks the beginning of three journeys of self-discovery. Through sometimes painful experiences, each character learns something about him/herself and others.

The novel highlights an issue faced by families with autistic children but an issue to which I had not really given much thought. A person may be neurotypical, but that doesn’t mean that he/she doesn’t have needs and desires; Sebastian is autistic but he, like everyone, wants love and acceptance and has sexual desires. The book certainly left me wondering what I would do if I were in Veronica’s position. I found it interesting that the author mentions that the story was inspired by a family with a son on the autism spectrum, a young man who gave her “emotional feedback” as she was writing. The author obviously wanted an authentic portrayal, and I think she has succeeded.

This book is a sensitive and compassionate portrayal of people about whom society often makes assumptions. Though there is pathos in abundance, there is also humour. Most importantly, it is thought-provoking.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).… (mehr)