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To Live With What You Are
Everyone has to be true to what they really are: it goes without saying. But what if what you really are is a creative genius and a committer of random acts of malice? Or a man whose boyhood stunk of booze and blood?
To Live With What You Are takes you into the world of Maura and James, a couple you’ll never forget. Artistry, violence, love and the pressures of raising a daughter among it all combine to create a story that will seep into the day-to-dayness of your life.
To Live With What You Are takes you into the world of Maura and James, a couple you’ll never forget. Artistry, violence, love and the pressures of raising a daughter among it all combine to create a story that will seep into the day-to-dayness of your life.
186 pages, Paperback
Published November 20, 2018
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 16, 2019
Took a couple of sittings to get through Charlie Gracie’s debut novel. Being familiar with his poetry and short fiction, I very much enjoyed this longer project that allowed his characters to stretch out and breathe.
And it’s a story that is all about characters, the effect that we have on each other, the seeds that we plant. James and Maura may well be messed up in more ways than one, but they remain relatable and real, as do the places they inhabit.
At the start of the novel, James is trying to be better, trying to deal with his demons until Maura tells him to be himself, and it’s within this instruction that the two find their attraction and inspiration, all the while recounting the past that has formed their present.
It’s a funny read in places, disturbing in others, and not without it surprises. Gracie employs a style that is easy on the eye and deceptively simple but he manages to create a world that is vibrant and colorful, and filled with characters that we may not like as such, but remain valid and flawed and captivating. If we start the novel wondering how they became this way, by the midpoint we’re wondering how it could’ve been avoided.
And it’s a story that is all about characters, the effect that we have on each other, the seeds that we plant. James and Maura may well be messed up in more ways than one, but they remain relatable and real, as do the places they inhabit.
At the start of the novel, James is trying to be better, trying to deal with his demons until Maura tells him to be himself, and it’s within this instruction that the two find their attraction and inspiration, all the while recounting the past that has formed their present.
It’s a funny read in places, disturbing in others, and not without it surprises. Gracie employs a style that is easy on the eye and deceptively simple but he manages to create a world that is vibrant and colorful, and filled with characters that we may not like as such, but remain valid and flawed and captivating. If we start the novel wondering how they became this way, by the midpoint we’re wondering how it could’ve been avoided.
January 7, 2019
Every now and then a book comes along that makes you sit up and take notice. This is that book. The novel follows James and Maura, a young couple in love. They could be like any other couple, but the thing that links them is their need for violence. This is an unsettling read but sadly the circumstances of their histories are not that unusual. Anyone who has read some of the Glasgow gangster life stories will recognise the pattern of violence that is passed down through generations. This story is often funny and sad. The prose is sharp and the characters are so well drawn that I found myself supporting them even when they were up to no good.
December 9, 2018
What a fantastic book! I put off everything I could & read this over a weekend. Darkly humorous, humorously dark & some really cool twists. Not sure I'll ever go to another HillGig though... :-D
Well done Charlie - proud to be your pal!
Well done Charlie - proud to be your pal!
July 4, 2019
Charlie Gracie’s novel, To Live With What You Are, is a fascinating and unconventional addition to the tartan noir genre - with not a drunk or disillusioned detective in sight.
What’s remarkable about the book is the overt connection between artistic creation and the perverted activity of the serial killer. This is a connection Moors Murderer Ian Brady made in his study of serial killing, The Gates of Janus. Critics dismissed the idea as the grandiloquent posturing of a narcissist, so Gracie is brave to take the idea and develop it through his unsettling characters, Maura and James.
The couple’s dark and violent relationship is played out against their own turbulent family backgrounds - and the contrastingly loving life they try to create for their daughter.
But those expecting the police to wrap things up tidily and restore the social order will be disappointed - Gracie eschews the easy redemption that drives so much crime fiction and leaves the reader with the disturbing conclusion that the energy is not always with the good guys and justice does not always triumph.
What’s remarkable about the book is the overt connection between artistic creation and the perverted activity of the serial killer. This is a connection Moors Murderer Ian Brady made in his study of serial killing, The Gates of Janus. Critics dismissed the idea as the grandiloquent posturing of a narcissist, so Gracie is brave to take the idea and develop it through his unsettling characters, Maura and James.
The couple’s dark and violent relationship is played out against their own turbulent family backgrounds - and the contrastingly loving life they try to create for their daughter.
But those expecting the police to wrap things up tidily and restore the social order will be disappointed - Gracie eschews the easy redemption that drives so much crime fiction and leaves the reader with the disturbing conclusion that the energy is not always with the good guys and justice does not always triumph.
August 14, 2024
I don't know what I just read and I'm not sure what it says that I liked it so much
January 10, 2019
Really interesting characters unnecessarily burdened with extreme histories and unusual needs
July 10, 2019
A real page turner with fascinating characters, gripping plot and a thought-provoking ending.
January 6, 2020
**spoilers**
I recently received this book from a family member who read it and thought I would also enjoy it. He was right.
The book is set in Scotland, mostly Glasgow, my home town. And follows the story of a couple who believe that they should always be themselves, even if that means murdering people.
I think what hooked me on this book is that it wasn't quite your traditional horror/thriller book. It was a book demonstrating how Maura and James became who they were, death of family members, abuse etc and how they found each other, created a life with each other and well murdered people.
I think what I liked the most about this book was the way in which it was written. The author has previously written poetry and this is evident in the book in the way that surroundings etc have been described. I also loved the way that the author, who is also Scottish, managed to portray Scotland and the Scottish characters in a non stereotypical way.
It was great reading a book based in a town I'm from and actually being able to picture certain scenes perfectly such as by the river Clyde on the M80 etc.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by the author.
I recently received this book from a family member who read it and thought I would also enjoy it. He was right.
The book is set in Scotland, mostly Glasgow, my home town. And follows the story of a couple who believe that they should always be themselves, even if that means murdering people.
I think what hooked me on this book is that it wasn't quite your traditional horror/thriller book. It was a book demonstrating how Maura and James became who they were, death of family members, abuse etc and how they found each other, created a life with each other and well murdered people.
I think what I liked the most about this book was the way in which it was written. The author has previously written poetry and this is evident in the book in the way that surroundings etc have been described. I also loved the way that the author, who is also Scottish, managed to portray Scotland and the Scottish characters in a non stereotypical way.
It was great reading a book based in a town I'm from and actually being able to picture certain scenes perfectly such as by the river Clyde on the M80 etc.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by the author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2019
Really good and unexpected read, with strong links to traditional Scottish literary traditions but set in a detailed and realistic present. The strength of the sensual descriptions of place are great; you can really touch and smell the places. The tension between the humanity and the inhumanity of the central characters (who both exhibit both) is fascinating, difficult, but somehow plausible.
Dive in. Possibly not at bedtime.
Dive in. Possibly not at bedtime.
February 16, 2022
I am not normally one for crime, but this is a crime book from the perspective of the criminals, a couple who need to 'live with what they are'. The book takes us from the present into the protagonists' pasts to explain, if not absolve, how James and Maura came to be the couple they became. The gorier crime elements are kept in the background (until the end) but the chills are there throughout, made more menacing by the fact that the book takes place in the tranquil and beautifully observed setting of the Stirlingshire.
October 26, 2020
Such an original and imaginative book. The settings are finely drawn in Glasgow and beyond - could follow the characters every move through streets and woods. Maura and James are characters you don’t want to care about but end up being pulled in to their lives with the finely written details of their childhoods and how they ended up where they are. The ending tied the book up nicely and messily - hope no spoilers in this review!
February 9, 2024
A very messed up little book, but well written with characters who are both terrifying and banal. American readers may trip over the dialect and Scottish turns of phrase, (messages are groceries, Irn Bru is a type of soda), but well worth a read.
April 27, 2021
Good story well written
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews