Bonnie Meekums's Blog

I was delighted to be asked to provide my honest review of this work, not least because it is a novella-in-flash, a relatively new form of writing that, as a writer of both novels and flash fiction, I want to know more about. This, as it happens, was an excellent place to start. Straw Gods was longlisted for the Bath Novella-in-Flash award, and shortlisted by Ellipsis Zine, so I knew before I began reading this was going to be good. I was not disappointed.

The skill of writing a novella-in-flash is that each ‘chapter’ is a flash fiction, able to stand alone, and yet each one also builds in some way on the one before. The linking story for this novella is the widow Rosa’s transformation in grief. Those sections that follow her perspective are written in the first person, whereas when other points of view are foregrounded, the writing is in the third person. Rosa opens by saying ‘I know that you’re dead’. Still, she persists with her ever more elaborate rituals, trying to bring her husband back. Her denial persists right up to very near the end of the book. Finally, she repeats those words, now fully meaning them. I won’t spoil the tension by revealing what enables that transition, except to say that it is a hazardous and painful journey.

We are not told where the novel is set, other than it is a fishing village. The names – Matteo, Rosa, Illy, Sol - sound Italian, but the reader is left to fill in the gaps. Not knowing, not being told, adds to the mystery that is woven into each flash, and within the novella as a whole. The author uses several powerful metaphors, including the strength of sea and storm, and conversely the insubstantial protection of straw against the elements. Water cools the pain of burning, but is used up so that more must be poured daily, onto hot stones taken from the beach from which Rosa’s husband set off, before drowning. The relentlessness of grief is shown to us through the widow’s rituals, even as we glimpse the couple’s passion in life: ‘I cleaned the old wood with a scarf he slipped over my eyes one night, so I could feel but not see him.’

The language Tom O’Brien employs is achingly beautiful, the more so because it is pared down: ‘I washed ginger and desolation from my teacups’; ‘I hid a scream in the thunder, unheard by sea or sky or dead husband’; ‘There would be no swimming in my heavy skirts, and I would fall fall fall for him again.’ I could go on. I wanted to package these phrases up, like Rosa’s pearl, so that I could bring them out when I need them.

I inhabit several identities, including writer and dance movement psychotherapist. I would urge not only the general reading public, but also my psychotherapy colleagues to read this novella. The professional, dry tomes outlining the tasks of grief never quite convey its pain as creative writers do, and in particular as Tom O’Brien does here. I remember, when I was first bereaved, realising I had known the theory, but I had not fully understood the human experience, until I knew that physical and mental anguish first hand. I would urge anyone who doesn’t fully understand bereavement to read this. And for those who do, we will empathise with Rosa, and perhaps feel a little less alone when we encounter our own grief.

Some people have rated my novel without posting a text review, which can be frustrating for an author because you never really know why they gave it the score they did. But so far, I have had three text reviews. Two of them appear here on goodreads, one of which is also on amazon, and now a book blogger has also reviewed it. I am blown away to find that all three of these are 5* reviews!

Here's what Kimberley, of My Bookish Bliss says:

'Bonnie Meekums delivers a graceful yet heartbreaking tale of love and loss... The tale has its lows as well as its highs, and I, as the reader, had no idea what was going to hit me next. Was I going to cry sad tears or happy tears? Those were the only choices. Tears were a given.

'I want to say that I fell in love with this book from the first page... It was written so naturally that I honestly felt that I could feel the love between all the characters...

'With a happy heart, I am pleased to award A Kind of Family a full 5 out of 5 stars... If you want to experience love and loss in a way you have never felt before, I encourage you to read this book.'

You can read the whole review here: https://mybookishbliss.com/a-kind-of-...

I am always grateful to anyone who leaves a full review, even if it is not 5*. That way, authors get to know what the real impact of their writing is. Thank you to all who have taken the time and trouble to do so.

As I draw near to the end of my book tour in New Zealand where I have been promoting my debut novel 'A Kind of Family', I feel so grateful to have been introduced to someone from the libraries here in Queenstown and Lakes District Council. The contact was made through a wonderful Maori community leader called Darren Rewi, who I met here last year, and from that meeting my presence here in the QLDC district, and in Queenstown in particular, has grown beyond my dreams. Here are some of the things that have happened as a result of that first contact:

*Three author talks in libraries
*Introduction to Maori readers
*Contact with Queenstown Writers group
*Bound Books deciding to stock a few copies of my book
*Book sales
*Donations by me to three libraries, so that people who cannot afford to buy can still read it

This last talk, on Thursday 23 January, is likely to be the best attended, and I am so excited about it, because this is my 'NZ home' library - the place I take my grandson to, and have hung out in on and off since 2011.

If you want to know more about me, what I am up to, and pictures of my book tour, why not follow me on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/Bonnie-Meeku...
You can also find me on twitter: @bonniemeekums.
If you read my book, do leave a review. I love hearing what people think of my novel, and why they give it the score they do.A Kind of FamilyBonnie Meekums

I did my first author talk on Thursday 16th January, at Frankton Library (near Queenstown airport), New Zealand.

I was very moved, because one of the people attending was Darren Rewi, a wonderfully generous Maori community leader whom I met last year when I was here. I had sought him out because I wanted someone to read a short section of my novel, to do a sensitivity check for me. He didn't stop there - he put me in touch with people from a Maori arts organisation, and also with a lovely librarian at Frankton Library. She, in turn has contacted colleagues and to cut a long story short has organised this short library tour of three venues, the second being tomorrow in Wanaka.

I feel highly committed to libraries. If it were not for libraries, I would never have ended up as well educated as I am. Thanks to my mother, my sister and I visited the library ever single week from shortly after I could read. It is important that books are available to people who cannot afford to buy them, and so I donated a copy of my novel last night.

My debut novel, A Kind of Family, was released by Between the Lines Publishing on January 7th 2020 - the day I arrived here in Queenstown, New Zealand, to visit family. It was timely, as it was while visiting last year that I heard from the publisher to say they would like to bring my book to the reading public.

Also while here early in 2019, I met an amazing Maori man called Darren Rewi who is a local leader within the community, and who kindly read sections of my book. He later put me in touch with some key people in the arts world here. As a result, I will be giving three author talks in libraries. I will also be donating at least one volume, so that people who can't or don't wish to buy the book can still read it. But I will have some copies ready to sign, for those that do want to buy.

In case anyone is able to make it, the first talk will be this Thursday evening, 5.3-6.30 at Frankton Library.
A Kind of Family
Bonnie Meekums