Blood Precious

by Sara Banerji

Snobbish, aloof and 80 years old, Lady Arabella Cunnigham-Smythe wishes she were dead. Then she could join her late husband as they had planned so meticulously before he died. But a band of well meaning friends and relations are determined to thwart her wishes.

Genres: Thriller

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2007

About the author

Sara Banerji describes her style as ‘mystic realism’ – her stories are peopled with vivid characters, whose lives are shot through with magic as well as very real human emotions. They are recounted with dark humour that can all too easily tip over into horror. Critics describe her voice as ‘original and highly imaginative’ ‘entertaining’, ‘bold’, ‘punchy’, ‘exciting’, ‘gripping, fluid and confident’. She is widely acclaimed as ‘a very gifted storyteller’.

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

09/06/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: BLOOD PRECIOUS by Sara Banerji
RATING: 3/C
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Women's Fiction/2007/278 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TIME/PLACE: Present/UK
CHARACTERS: Lady Cunningham-Smythe/80 yr old widow; Naomi/granddaughter
FIRST LINES: I did not realise a suicide note -- I believe that is what it is called -- was so hard to write, till I tried to do it.

COMMENTS: 08/02/08 rec via bookcrossing ring/ray O me-o-my-o where do I start w/ this one. This is a book suffering from an identity crisis it seemed to be all over the place. I certainly don't need a book to follow a template & be formulaic but I just didn't feel this one had a cohesive focus. First off -- the cover -- I get a "horror" genre feel & blood precious brings to mind gore and the connection to horror w/ bloody scenes. OK, I'm wrong but that was my 1st impression. Actually I usually like multilevel meanings to the title as this one did "blood precious" -- 1) the granddaughter's reference to her grandmother's blood pressure 2) the blood ties w/ family & the AI angle 3) the religious blood sacrifice/communion blood angle. No likeable characters, IMHO. Why did Naomi & Freddy have these so-called magical powers, maybe I wanted a few more details. Why did M'buta leave the commune? The ending was abrupt. As not to be a total whiner there were some things I liked. I was interested enough to see how it all turned out. I liked Lady C's taxi ride where she shared w/ us her feelings towards the young attractive cab driver & that elders still have yearnings and they can do so unobtrusively w/o the other party being aware. The redemption of the children due to the wiles and empowerment of the elders. Not an all bad book, but just didn't meet my expectations of the transita line. Usually become quite engaged w/ the transita characters and their relationships and enjoy reading along as they go through some transformative experiences where they learn and find joy in their new discoveries. This one didn't evoke those sentiments from me.

[LindyLouMac · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started out thinking I was going to enjoy this as the character of Lady Arabella Cunningham-Smythe is a tremendously funny and feisty lady. Determined to commit suicide, but only on a Tuesday so that she can join her husband in the after life, it seemed more of a black comedy than a thriller. Arabella has a precocious granddaughter Naomi the artificially inseminated child of Arabella’s lesbian daughter Verity and partner M’buta. The plot started to disintegrate for me almost immediately the kidnap took place. I just cannot believe that people behave in such a situation as these characters did. Especially Verity and M’buta who were far more concerned about other things going on in their lives; than the fact that their daughter had disappeared. Their behaviour I felt did not fit in with the story line somehow either.
Without saying anything to spoil it for those who may enjoy this, it did not take me long to work out the connections and by the time Arabella went off to her weekend retreat I knew generally how it was going to end!
Disappointingly weak and if it had not been for my personal wish to read all of Transita’s publications I doubt I would have ever read this let alone finished it.
I do not enjoy writing a bad review, as writing a novel is not an easy task, but one that is easy to criticise. So preferring to end on a good note I must mention that Blood Precious is a great title and I loved Naomi’s use of the phrase.