Lisa Manterfield

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July 7, 2015 - Lisa Manterfield 1 Comment

Book Love: The Girl on the Train

The_Girl_on_the_TrainI’m not the first person to be enthralled by Paula Hawkins’ debut novel The Girl on the Train. A quick glance at any of the current bestseller lists suggests that plenty of other people have been sucked in to this deviously curious story. Right from the opening, Hawkins drips out tasty droplets of mystery and intrigue, and sends a clear message that, if we want to know what it all adds up to, we’ll have to be as patient as the main character, Rachel, and her fellow commuters on the 8:04 train to Euston.

 

I was immediately pulled in by the structure of the book, sitting with Rachel as she goes back and forth on the same journey day after day. Having once been a train commuter, I could relate to her knowing the journey by heart, looking for familiar faces and landmarks, and even speculating at the lives happening inside the houses she passes. But we soon learn that Rachel’s is far from an ordinary commute and, with each passing trip, we discover more and more about her spectacularly flawed personality. It’s this slow acquaintance—the way you’d get to know someone over time—that allows us to understand and even root for Rachel when she eventually gets off the train and starts to make a series of very bad decisions. Even as we cringe and silently beg her not to do what she’s thinking of doing, we completely understand why she’s doing it, and we want to follow behind her like a good friend, to make sure she comes out of her mess intact.

The Girl on the Train was the first book I downloaded with the Audible subscription I recently received as a gift. * It’s been years since I listened to a “book on tape” and hearing the distinct voices of the three main female characters, Rachel, Megan, and Anna, added an extra dimension to the story. I particularly enjoyed how each woman interpreted the other characters in the story based on her own experience, giving the reader a multi-faceted picture.

The Girl on the Train is described as a “psychological thriller” which would normally be enough to make me take a pass. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a story about everywoman, someone whose life has jumped the rails in some way. It’s a story of love, loss, mistakes, and secrets that would have had me turning the pages, had I had pages to turn. With its short chapters and alternating viewpoints, it kept me up late as I listened to “just one more” to see what happened next.

Some reviewers have called the book “the next Gone Girl” but where Gone Girl left me fascinated but despising the flawed main characters, The Girl on the Train left me nodding in understanding, and thinking “Well, what else could she have done?”

Did you enjoy The Girl on the Train? If so, I’d love to hear your other book recommendations.

 

*This seems like a good place to note that my “Book Love” posts are where I share books that I’ve purchased or borrowed, read, and loved. I’m not paid to write reviews and I’m not given free review copies. I love getting book recommendations from friends and this is where I’m sharing mine.

Filed Under: Book Love Tagged With: Author, book recommendations, girl on the train, gone girl, paula hawkins, review 1 Comment

March 16, 2015 - Lisa Manterfield 2 Comments

Eyam: The Plague Village That Inspired My New Novel

P1170012Imagine you live in an idyllic English village. Suddenly your friends and neighbors begin falling ill and dying of a deadly infectious disease. In order to stop the spread of this virus to the surrounding villages and beyond, you and your neighbors make a monumental decision. You quarantine your village; no one comes in, no one goes out. For months you isolate yourselves, relying on the kindness of surrounding neighbors to provide food and supplies. You wait and watch, while the disease rips through families, sparing some lives and taking others. When it’s all over, 260 people—more than two thirds of the village—are dead, but the contagion has been stopped, potentially saving the lives of thousands of people—and your village will be remembered for centuries to come for its courage and self-sacrifice.

Sounds like a great premise for a novel, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s a true story. This is the story of the plague village of Eyam, a small village in the north of England, not far from where I grew up.

P1170006In the mid-1600s The Great Plague ravaged London, killing more than 100,000 people. Thanks to a stowaway flea in a bolt of cloth, the disease made its way to Eyam, some 150 miles to the north. Lead by the local vicar, Reverend Mompesson, the villagers made the horrific decision to isolate themselves and prevent the plague from spreading further.

P1170014I’ve always been fascinated by this part of history and the personal stories that have endured. There’s the story of Emmott Syddall, engaged to a boy in the next village. The two lovers continued their affair across the quarantine boundary from opposing riverbanks. Their story is commemorated in a stained glass window in the church. There’s the story of villagers leaving money in a pot of vinegar (to disinfect it) in exchange for supplies from surrounding villages. And there are the tragic stories, such as Elizabeth Hancock, who buried her husband and six children, and yet never became infected.

I first heard these stories as young girl visiting Eyam and they’ve stuck with me ever since. They’re an important part of my local history and I’ve always wanted to find a way to share them with a wider audience. I didn’t want to write historical fiction (plus Geraldine Brooks already did it, and undoubtedly better than I could have, in her 2002 novel Year of Wonders), and writing a contemporary version of the story was fraught with roadblocks, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine and technology.

But I really wanted to tell this story, so I started writing. I started with the characters of Emmott Syddall and Roland Torre, and wrote some scenes with them. And I kept writing, until a new story started to emerge.

I won’t ruin the whole thing here, but I will write more about how the story evolved in another post. I’ll also be sharing some excerpts from the book soon. Please consider signing up for my newsletter for updates on all this.

For now, I’ll leave you with a few more snaps of Eyam, taken from my research trip last year.

P1170016You can still see the Plague Cottages, where George Viccars, the first victim lived. The cottages are still inhabited. You can also see the church and churchyard where some of the victims were buried.

P1170017One of my favorite spots is Cucklett Delf, where Emmott and Roland allegedly met, where outdoor services were held during the quarantine, and where a memorial service is held each year to commemorate the incredible sacrifice.

P1170033You can learn more about Eyam at their excellent new museum.

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: death, Eyam, fiction, love, plague, YA 2 Comments

March 28, 2014 - Lisa Manterfield 4 Comments

Exciting News from the Contest Circuit

Lisa SCBWIIt’s been a wild couple of weeks for The Skeptic’s Guide to Reincarnation and I’m just now coming back to earth and taking a breath.

It began last month when I learned SGR and I had made the finals of the San Francisco Writer’s Conference contest. We didn’t win, but we were honored to make the cut.

Then, last week, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award released the list of books that had made it through to the second round.  I have to admit that I held my breath as I opened the document and scanned the list. I knew I would have been bitterly disappointed not to make it through the first round, but I was still thrilled and excited when I found my name there.

What was even more thrilling was the response from friends when I posted my news on Facebook. It was so wonderful to see so many people genuinely pleased and excited for me. I even had to calm a couple of wonderfully zealous friend who wanted to know where they could buy the book. (“Not yet,” I had to tell them, “but soon!”)

This past weekend I attended Writer’s Days hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of The Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. What a fantastic weekend of writing and learning. I met some wonderful children’s book authors and so enjoyed their generosity and warmth. I was having such a good time that I barely gave a thought to the contest all day.

Then the winners were announced, along with a blurb written by one of the contest judges. When I heard Kat’s name, I had one of those slow motion moments where you’re hearing the words and you kind of know they’re talking about you, but it takes few seconds for your brain to catch up.

Fortunately my friend Mary Jo was there to prod me out of my seat and up to the podium to collect my award. I didn’t get to make a speech, which was probably for the best as I would have undoubtedly waffled and said something like, “You like me; you really like me.” But it was the closest thing yet to attending the Academy Awards—and thankfully I didn’t trip on the red carpet.

Best of all, I got a certificate and copy of the write-up from the judges. Here’s what they said that made my day:

“Kat’s boyfriend has been dead for almost three years, but Kat isn’t ready to move on. Then she lays eyes on Owen, who is wandering across his dorm floor in nothing but a towel, and unexpectedly her interest is piqued. THE SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO REINCARNATION hooks the reader with its very first line and never lets go. The voice is unassuming and introspective, the prose elegant, and the descriptions sensuous, e.g., “there was a hint of Imperial Leather soap, a slight bite of sweaty dampness, and the unmistakable aroma of Aramis cologne.” I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!”

And I can’t wait to have this book available to read!

If you’d like to see the opening chapter that the judges got to read, you can download a copy here. If you want even more, sign up for my newsletter to get a free ebook and audio of the first three chapters. I’d love to know what you think.

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: ABNA, fiction, SCBWI, SFWC, young adult 4 Comments

March 17, 2014 - Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment

Disappearing in a Connected World

200px-How_to_Disappear_CompletelyI found this story of a woman found dead after five years incredibly sad and deeply disturbing. I was also intrigued.

In case you didn’t see the story, a woman in Michigan was found dead in her car, parked inside the garage of her home. Investigators believe her mummified remains had been there for at least five years. The woman traveled a lot, had her mail sent to the local post office, and had all her bills automatically paid electronically. It wasn’t until her bank account dried up and her house fell into foreclosure that someone paid attention and stumbled upon her remains.

It set me to thinking about the kind of world we live in, where a person can disappear for five years without anyone noticing. Her neighbors assumed she was traveling and one kind neighbor even mowed her lawn while she was “gone.” But no friends noticed the lack of phone calls? No family members missed her Christmas cards and wondered if she was okay? No one said, “Hey, haven’t seen what’s-her-name around here for a while. Wonder where she is.”

I’m trying not to let my imagination run wild with picturing an existence in which not one single person gives a flying fig whether you live or die. Not a soul gives you a second thought. I find it impossible to imagine what a sad and lonely life that must be.

But the story, along with the baffling Malaysian Airlines saga, has me intrigued about the idea of disappearing in our modern world. We’re all so plugged in and connected that it seems impossible to disappear, and yet this woman did just that.

So, I’m wondering (purely from a point of curiosity, you understand) is it impossible to be invisible in our modern world, or is it easier than ever to appear to disappear?

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: dead woman, disappear, malaysian airlines, mystery, technology Leave a Comment

March 14, 2014 - Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment

Grim in My Coffee

When Harry Potter peered into his teacup during Divination and saw the dark shape of a spectral dog, he was told it was “The Grim”—the dreaded omen of death.

When my coffee grinder malfunctioned (due to operator error) I was given this disturbing image:

Image

What do you think? A dark sign or, as Hermione would say, “A load of rubbish.”?

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: death, grim, Harry Potter, omen Leave a Comment

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