What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sound Mirror
Tamara is going to kill her mother, but she isn't the villain. Tamara just has to finish what began at her birth and put an end to the damage encoded in her blood. Leaving her job in Communications, Tamara dresses carefully and hires a car, making the trip from London to her hometown in Kent, to visit her mother for the last time. Accompanied by a chorus of ancestors, Tamara is harried by voices from the past and the future that reveal the struggles, joys and secrets of these women's lives that continue to echo through and impact her own.
The Sound Mirror spans three familial generations from British Occupied India to Southern England, through intimately rendered characters, Heidi James has crafted a haunting and moving examination of class, war, violence, family and shame from the rich details of ordinary lives.
The Sound Mirror spans three familial generations from British Occupied India to Southern England, through intimately rendered characters, Heidi James has crafted a haunting and moving examination of class, war, violence, family and shame from the rich details of ordinary lives.
230 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2020
10 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Heidi James
10 books47 followersHeidi James was born in Chatham, Kent. (also home to Billy Childish and Charles Dickens) She has a PhD in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing.
Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Somesuch Stories, Dazed and Confused, Flux, Galley Beggars and Mslexia, as well as in the anthologies The Loose Cannon, Writing from the Edge and Turpin’s Cave.
Her novella The Mesmerist's Daughter (published by Neon Press in April 2015) won the 2015 Saboteur Award for Best Novella and she was a finalist for the Cinnamon Poetry Collection Prize. She was awarded the Sophie Warne Fellowship in 2008.
She lives in London with her family, including two rescue dogs, Rose and Jay.
Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Somesuch Stories, Dazed and Confused, Flux, Galley Beggars and Mslexia, as well as in the anthologies The Loose Cannon, Writing from the Edge and Turpin’s Cave.
Her novella The Mesmerist's Daughter (published by Neon Press in April 2015) won the 2015 Saboteur Award for Best Novella and she was a finalist for the Cinnamon Poetry Collection Prize. She was awarded the Sophie Warne Fellowship in 2008.
She lives in London with her family, including two rescue dogs, Rose and Jay.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 24, 2020
She is going to kill her mother today.
The Sound Mirror by Heidi James opens with a chapter titled Tamara and an intriguing first page with the opening line above which is immediately qualified But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain. Then the narrative voice tells us of course we’re along for the ride , commenting on the “we” with:
It’s been a long time coming, and our fault, we should say. Funny that, speaking with one voice now, agreeing with each other. But yes our fault, and all the others, tangled up with poisons and infections and rottenness. Our mothers and mothers’ mothers containing us … for now she’s the sum of all us women, the total. She’s what’s left.
You imagine history trailing you, like clanging tin cans on a wedding car, but you’re wrong. History is a halter that leads; we are a beast of burden with a ring through the nose. You go where we lead. We are not whole, we are fragments, un-unified, unstable entities, colliding under the swirling universe. Overflowing with memories and feelings not our own; archives of those who came before. It’s almost romantic, imagining we’re individuals, cut off from the rest, making ourselves feel special. What we are is the story she is made of. Then of course there’s free will, if you believe in that, which she does. It’s a nice idea anyway. That we are free to choose our actions, and the consequences.
The mothers’ mother containing us explained as a reference to a girl being born with all of egg cells she will ever have, meaning that the entire female side of someone’s genetic inheritance was, at one point, developed inside their maternal grandmother.
The rest of the novel then alternates between three stories, told in alternating, brief chapters:
Tamara’s story – which itself switches between the present day journey to Kent to “kill her mother” (what this means becomes clear over time), and her life history (she was born in 1976)
Claire – born of Italian immigrant parents just before WW2. Her story opens with her evacuated from urban Kent to Wales during the height of the blitz, her father potentially subject to internment.
Ada – from a mixed Anglo-Indian heritage, and, who as the novel opens is emigrating, as a child, with her family from India to Kent in the UK (where only her grandfather has previously visited) after the fall of the Raj
The stories of Claire and Ada, at different ends of a social spectrum (although more due to the nature of their marriages than their birth), give an effective portrait of Britain in the 2nd half of the 20th century, a picture infused with class prejudice, sexism and often rather casual racism (the light-skinned Ada in particular is usually assumed by others to have been an emigrant from Britain to India, rather than vice versa, leading others to often make disparaging remarks about what is actually her heritage).
The story of Tamara herself is rattler less linear and fractured, but this seems deliberate as per the quotes above (we are not whole, we are fragments, un-unified, unstable entities) and the connection between the three stories, and to the narrators of the opening chapter, seems rather clear from outset, although the novel chooses to withhold confirmation.
The sound mirrors of the title are encountered by Tamara as a child on a Kent beach.
The following passages comes not from the novel but from a short-story that seems to have been the novel’s origin and which starts similarly to the novel, https://somesuchstories.co/story/soun...
This links, I think, with the theme that we’re all echoes of our past, particularly our matriarchal lineage.
I am genuinely a fan of innovative narrative form over in-depth substance of a story. However here, I actually found the family story more compelling as a historical portrayal of the 20th century UK, whereas the device of the narrative chorus (of two) and the sound mirror was rather less effective, potentially even a distraction.
3.5 stars
The Sound Mirror by Heidi James opens with a chapter titled Tamara and an intriguing first page with the opening line above which is immediately qualified But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain. Then the narrative voice tells us of course we’re along for the ride , commenting on the “we” with:
It’s been a long time coming, and our fault, we should say. Funny that, speaking with one voice now, agreeing with each other. But yes our fault, and all the others, tangled up with poisons and infections and rottenness. Our mothers and mothers’ mothers containing us … for now she’s the sum of all us women, the total. She’s what’s left.
You imagine history trailing you, like clanging tin cans on a wedding car, but you’re wrong. History is a halter that leads; we are a beast of burden with a ring through the nose. You go where we lead. We are not whole, we are fragments, un-unified, unstable entities, colliding under the swirling universe. Overflowing with memories and feelings not our own; archives of those who came before. It’s almost romantic, imagining we’re individuals, cut off from the rest, making ourselves feel special. What we are is the story she is made of. Then of course there’s free will, if you believe in that, which she does. It’s a nice idea anyway. That we are free to choose our actions, and the consequences.
The mothers’ mother containing us explained as a reference to a girl being born with all of egg cells she will ever have, meaning that the entire female side of someone’s genetic inheritance was, at one point, developed inside their maternal grandmother.
The rest of the novel then alternates between three stories, told in alternating, brief chapters:
Tamara’s story – which itself switches between the present day journey to Kent to “kill her mother” (what this means becomes clear over time), and her life history (she was born in 1976)
Claire – born of Italian immigrant parents just before WW2. Her story opens with her evacuated from urban Kent to Wales during the height of the blitz, her father potentially subject to internment.
Ada – from a mixed Anglo-Indian heritage, and, who as the novel opens is emigrating, as a child, with her family from India to Kent in the UK (where only her grandfather has previously visited) after the fall of the Raj
The stories of Claire and Ada, at different ends of a social spectrum (although more due to the nature of their marriages than their birth), give an effective portrait of Britain in the 2nd half of the 20th century, a picture infused with class prejudice, sexism and often rather casual racism (the light-skinned Ada in particular is usually assumed by others to have been an emigrant from Britain to India, rather than vice versa, leading others to often make disparaging remarks about what is actually her heritage).
The story of Tamara herself is rattler less linear and fractured, but this seems deliberate as per the quotes above (we are not whole, we are fragments, un-unified, unstable entities) and the connection between the three stories, and to the narrators of the opening chapter, seems rather clear from outset, although the novel chooses to withhold confirmation.
The sound mirrors of the title are encountered by Tamara as a child on a Kent beach.
The following passages comes not from the novel but from a short-story that seems to have been the novel’s origin and which starts similarly to the novel, https://somesuchstories.co/story/soun...
Years before and to come on a school trip to the Kent seaside, the man told us about these sound mirrors and how some people thought they were beautiful examples of architecture and how even though they still worked, they were never used, because something else came along, better technology or something and then the war ended, so there were no more German planes to listen out for. But they still stand there, these huge concrete disks, shaped like bowls, gathering and reflecting sounds, taking things in. Out in the middle of nowhere, facing the sea, still doing their job even if no one is listening anymore. There’s magic about them, standing there, you can hear what’s happening a long way away. We used to marvel at them, way back before I was born. Echoes still vibrating in the molecules. That’s us, turned in both directions, a listening device.
This links, I think, with the theme that we’re all echoes of our past, particularly our matriarchal lineage.
I am genuinely a fan of innovative narrative form over in-depth substance of a story. However here, I actually found the family story more compelling as a historical portrayal of the 20th century UK, whereas the device of the narrative chorus (of two) and the sound mirror was rather less effective, potentially even a distraction.
3.5 stars
August 23, 2020
With the opening lines of The Sound Mirror, you might think that you have picked up some kind of thriller or murder mystery:
”She is going to kill her mother today. But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain.”
But, no. This is the stories of three women, Tamara (the potential mother killer), Claire and Ada. The stories are told in short chapters that jump from one woman to another and often move around in time. You have to keep your wits about you as you read. In fact, there’s a bit of a mystery in my experience of reading this book. You would think that chapters that are mostly just 2 or 3 pages long and sometimes shorter (down to single paragraphs) would mean that you wouldn’t forget what was happening in each of the threads. The chapters aren’t in a strict cycle, so sometimes one of the women disappears for several chapters at a time, but it is never long between episodes of each woman’s life. But, strangely, I found that the short chapters had the opposite effect: instead of meaning the stories were still fresh next time I got to that woman’s part, I found the brevity meant that the stories never got fixed in my head and I was often forgetting where I was up to. I recognise that this is a deficiency in me as a reader and not in the book, but I did find that the rapid fire chapters skipping from one woman to another gradually became like a rather annoying flickering light.
That said, the stories being told are interesting for their social commentary and review of life for women in England in the second half of the twentieth century (the men in this book, in all honesty, might as well not be there, but it is a book about women so I imagine this is deliberate). Tamara is a modern day woman carrying baggage from her childhood. Ada leaves India to head for England at the end of the British Raj. Claire grows up in post-war London. Note that this means some of the blurbs and reviews are a bit misleading when they comment on three generations of women - the ending of the British Raj and of WWII are pretty much contemporaneous events, which puts Ada and Claire in the same generation. Some of the early reviews also comment on the way the connection between the three women is revealed, but I thought that part of the story was rather obvious, which doesn’t detract from the book but was a surprise to me when I learned that others hadn’t necessarily expected it. Following Ada and Claire and seeing the flashbacks to Tamara’s childhood and growing up give us some good, closely observed writing about attitudes to women, about racial tensions, about class and about the lives of ordinary people over the second half of the twentieth century.
The blurb makes the point that Tamara is accompanied by a chorus of ancestors. This is a literal thing: a kind of Greek chorus of ancestors takes the part of narrator in many places in Tamara’s story. I’ve seen this idea used in other books and I have yet to find an example where it really works for me, but it is only a minor distraction here.
Overall, I enjoyed the portraits of three different women and the view of changing attitudes, but there were elements of the structure here, specifically the flickering chapters and the pseudo-Greek-chorus that spoiled the book for me. I would be the first to acknowledge that the things I found aggravating will be plus points for other readers.
”She is going to kill her mother today. But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain.”
But, no. This is the stories of three women, Tamara (the potential mother killer), Claire and Ada. The stories are told in short chapters that jump from one woman to another and often move around in time. You have to keep your wits about you as you read. In fact, there’s a bit of a mystery in my experience of reading this book. You would think that chapters that are mostly just 2 or 3 pages long and sometimes shorter (down to single paragraphs) would mean that you wouldn’t forget what was happening in each of the threads. The chapters aren’t in a strict cycle, so sometimes one of the women disappears for several chapters at a time, but it is never long between episodes of each woman’s life. But, strangely, I found that the short chapters had the opposite effect: instead of meaning the stories were still fresh next time I got to that woman’s part, I found the brevity meant that the stories never got fixed in my head and I was often forgetting where I was up to. I recognise that this is a deficiency in me as a reader and not in the book, but I did find that the rapid fire chapters skipping from one woman to another gradually became like a rather annoying flickering light.
That said, the stories being told are interesting for their social commentary and review of life for women in England in the second half of the twentieth century (the men in this book, in all honesty, might as well not be there, but it is a book about women so I imagine this is deliberate). Tamara is a modern day woman carrying baggage from her childhood. Ada leaves India to head for England at the end of the British Raj. Claire grows up in post-war London. Note that this means some of the blurbs and reviews are a bit misleading when they comment on three generations of women - the ending of the British Raj and of WWII are pretty much contemporaneous events, which puts Ada and Claire in the same generation. Some of the early reviews also comment on the way the connection between the three women is revealed, but I thought that part of the story was rather obvious, which doesn’t detract from the book but was a surprise to me when I learned that others hadn’t necessarily expected it. Following Ada and Claire and seeing the flashbacks to Tamara’s childhood and growing up give us some good, closely observed writing about attitudes to women, about racial tensions, about class and about the lives of ordinary people over the second half of the twentieth century.
The blurb makes the point that Tamara is accompanied by a chorus of ancestors. This is a literal thing: a kind of Greek chorus of ancestors takes the part of narrator in many places in Tamara’s story. I’ve seen this idea used in other books and I have yet to find an example where it really works for me, but it is only a minor distraction here.
Overall, I enjoyed the portraits of three different women and the view of changing attitudes, but there were elements of the structure here, specifically the flickering chapters and the pseudo-Greek-chorus that spoiled the book for me. I would be the first to acknowledge that the things I found aggravating will be plus points for other readers.
June 18, 2020
Every so often a book comes along that ticks all the boxes. It is immersive, the writing is sublime, and the overall story is magnificent. For me, a book like that only causes one problem. The review I write, will not do it justice. This is one of those books.
This is (in its most concise form) a story of multi-ethnic women in Britain spread over three generations. Tamara herself is set in "present day" England and we follow her journey to visit (kill) her Mother. During her journey we learn about her harsh upbringing and how it both affected her in later life, and the decision she is about to make about her mother. The novel is shared with stories from different times in the past, and two different women - namely Claire and Ada.
Claire is an Italian who was raised in London. We spend time with her during wartime when she was evacuated to Wales and watch her as she grows and learns what is expected of her as the daughter of a grocer in this time.
Ada is a British-Indian whose family return to England when India gains Independence. While many in her situation may have been cast aside in England her pale skin works to her benefit as it allows her to swim in otherwise inaccessible waters - but her perceived beauty also marks her as something men wish to "possess".
As a white male some of the experiences discussed within the book were eye opening and left me with a lot of food for thought. I cannot even imagine what it is like for any woman to grow up today let alone during war time, but this novel shows us some of the societal pressures that these women faced.
We are drip fed and teased with clues about just how and when the lives of these women will come together. The book is a strange mix of incredibly readable where the reader wants to keep going and going while at the same time there are passages that make you want to stop and take a breath at just how brilliantly written they are.
After I receive an ARC I often read the first couple of pages to get a feel for the book, and return to it later when I have it scheduled. When I opened The Sound Mirror the schedule went out the window. The opening lines hooked me immediately and I just knew this was a book that demanded my immediate attention.
I absolutely loved this; it is chock full of beautifully poetic writing. It has taken me quite a while to process the book enough to be able to even write this review, and it left me with a book hangover the likes of which I haven't experienced for a while. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I have read a good number of books already this year, and this is going to be up there with the best of them come year end, if not at the very top of the pile.
This is (in its most concise form) a story of multi-ethnic women in Britain spread over three generations. Tamara herself is set in "present day" England and we follow her journey to visit (kill) her Mother. During her journey we learn about her harsh upbringing and how it both affected her in later life, and the decision she is about to make about her mother. The novel is shared with stories from different times in the past, and two different women - namely Claire and Ada.
Claire is an Italian who was raised in London. We spend time with her during wartime when she was evacuated to Wales and watch her as she grows and learns what is expected of her as the daughter of a grocer in this time.
Ada is a British-Indian whose family return to England when India gains Independence. While many in her situation may have been cast aside in England her pale skin works to her benefit as it allows her to swim in otherwise inaccessible waters - but her perceived beauty also marks her as something men wish to "possess".
As a white male some of the experiences discussed within the book were eye opening and left me with a lot of food for thought. I cannot even imagine what it is like for any woman to grow up today let alone during war time, but this novel shows us some of the societal pressures that these women faced.
We are drip fed and teased with clues about just how and when the lives of these women will come together. The book is a strange mix of incredibly readable where the reader wants to keep going and going while at the same time there are passages that make you want to stop and take a breath at just how brilliantly written they are.
After I receive an ARC I often read the first couple of pages to get a feel for the book, and return to it later when I have it scheduled. When I opened The Sound Mirror the schedule went out the window. The opening lines hooked me immediately and I just knew this was a book that demanded my immediate attention.
I absolutely loved this; it is chock full of beautifully poetic writing. It has taken me quite a while to process the book enough to be able to even write this review, and it left me with a book hangover the likes of which I haven't experienced for a while. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I have read a good number of books already this year, and this is going to be up there with the best of them come year end, if not at the very top of the pile.
February 10, 2025
‘The Sound Mirror spans three generations and thousands of miles. It is an examination of class, war, violence, family and shame from the rich details of ordinary lives and intimately rendered characters.’
Sometimes you can tell instantly when an author has put their heart and soul into writing a book. It’s more to them than simply their book or their story. It becomes a venting tool, a diary, a place to allow inner feelings to emerge. A therapy of sorts.
Has this book won an award? I couldn’t find anything that says it has and I find it very hard to believe that it hasn’t.
Heidi’s story telling is phenomenal. The creativity is outstanding. How can writing with such a spiritual calm incorporate the brutality of life and truths without becoming a confusing conflict?
I had to concentrate hard with the three different characters and the joint narrative that told this story. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. I needed silence and zero distraction. I wanted to hang onto every word, allowing myself time to digest and ponder this journey. There was no reason to rush.
The Sound Mirror is an education. It’s astonishing how much connection I felt with the characters and how their lives affected me directly and indirectly.
I can’t say much more other than I love Heidi’s writing, I read Wounding last year and that left one hell of an impression.
Anyway, may I suggest you get yourself a copy and quietly settle into Heidi’s world, she writes for listeners, for thinkers, for ponderers and above all, she writes for herself.
Sometimes you can tell instantly when an author has put their heart and soul into writing a book. It’s more to them than simply their book or their story. It becomes a venting tool, a diary, a place to allow inner feelings to emerge. A therapy of sorts.
Has this book won an award? I couldn’t find anything that says it has and I find it very hard to believe that it hasn’t.
Heidi’s story telling is phenomenal. The creativity is outstanding. How can writing with such a spiritual calm incorporate the brutality of life and truths without becoming a confusing conflict?
I had to concentrate hard with the three different characters and the joint narrative that told this story. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. I needed silence and zero distraction. I wanted to hang onto every word, allowing myself time to digest and ponder this journey. There was no reason to rush.
The Sound Mirror is an education. It’s astonishing how much connection I felt with the characters and how their lives affected me directly and indirectly.
I can’t say much more other than I love Heidi’s writing, I read Wounding last year and that left one hell of an impression.
Anyway, may I suggest you get yourself a copy and quietly settle into Heidi’s world, she writes for listeners, for thinkers, for ponderers and above all, she writes for herself.
April 20, 2021
In the Sound Mirror, one of the characters, Tamara encounters one on a beach. Up until then I had no idea what one was. When I was doing some research on sound mirrors (they were devices set up during the 1920’s to reflect sound), I discovered that the only one outside the U.K. is located in Malta. Incidentally Malta also gets a mention in the book.
The book is divided into three interlinked narratives. There’s Tamara who is on a mission to get revenge against her mother , Claire whose narrative takes places in post war Britain and is the daughter of Italian emigrants and Ada, a half caste who moves from India to England with her family.
All three characters are related to each other but their connection goes much deeper. All three women are oppressed by men: Ada’s father does not want her to go to university and her husband is a narcissist, Claire’s husband regards her as a device to procreate, Tamara’s ex-husband is a bully.
There are other connections, these characters experience harsh treatment from their mothers, are abused, are treated in an unjust manner by society. It transpires that no matter the era, women will always suffer in some way or another. As a result each of these characters think of ways they can break free. In my opinion I think they manage but in unconventional ways.
The three narratives are split up into two page long chapters and are not in chronological order so it is up to the reader to piece the order of the timelines. However this not confusing in the least as we get the basic storyline in the first few pages. Heidi James also uses different narrative voices so each section is distinct, and yet like a sound mirror these three character’s lives echo each other.
The Sound Mirror is quite a powerful book. I liked the way Heidi James portrayed the treatment of women in different historical contexts. I thought the varied writing styles was done brilliantly. I also had fun seeing all the connections and how each character was linked to each other. I found The Sound Mirror to be a fantastic read and in the process opens one’s eyes to how some attitudes improve but never really disappear.
The book is divided into three interlinked narratives. There’s Tamara who is on a mission to get revenge against her mother , Claire whose narrative takes places in post war Britain and is the daughter of Italian emigrants and Ada, a half caste who moves from India to England with her family.
All three characters are related to each other but their connection goes much deeper. All three women are oppressed by men: Ada’s father does not want her to go to university and her husband is a narcissist, Claire’s husband regards her as a device to procreate, Tamara’s ex-husband is a bully.
There are other connections, these characters experience harsh treatment from their mothers, are abused, are treated in an unjust manner by society. It transpires that no matter the era, women will always suffer in some way or another. As a result each of these characters think of ways they can break free. In my opinion I think they manage but in unconventional ways.
The three narratives are split up into two page long chapters and are not in chronological order so it is up to the reader to piece the order of the timelines. However this not confusing in the least as we get the basic storyline in the first few pages. Heidi James also uses different narrative voices so each section is distinct, and yet like a sound mirror these three character’s lives echo each other.
The Sound Mirror is quite a powerful book. I liked the way Heidi James portrayed the treatment of women in different historical contexts. I thought the varied writing styles was done brilliantly. I also had fun seeing all the connections and how each character was linked to each other. I found The Sound Mirror to be a fantastic read and in the process opens one’s eyes to how some attitudes improve but never really disappear.
June 4, 2020
Yes, I'm comparing this to a Man Booker winner:
We just read and discussed Girl, Woman, Other (by Bernardine Evaristo) in my book group last month, to resounding positive comments. One of the things that made it experimental/brave was the lack of an over-arching narrative arc. Each individual story is complete, and related to the whole, but the stories don't move the narrative. One of the other book group members asked me if that bothered me (as I was the one to bring this point up for discussion) and I said no, not really, since the writing was so fine and the importance of the work was obvious. It's a slice of life, rather than a story, and it's brilliant.
Then I was kindly provided an advance reader copy of The Sound Mirror by Heidi James/Bluemoose Books.
The Sound Mirror is also a multi-ethnic, multi-generational story of women in Britain (mostly working class). Because Bluemoose seems to love novels by poets (of which James is one), the writing is startling in its precision and beauty. And because James is an award-winning thriller writer, the reader is tantalised through the novel with hints and clues about how the lives of these women will intersect. It's unfair, really, the speed with which I had to read to get to the end, because I so wanted to stop and enjoy the language. I guess I'll just have to read it again. ;)
And I concluded that actually, I *do* prefer novels that tell me a story in addition to giving me instruction on lives I won't ever live. There - I said it.
We just read and discussed Girl, Woman, Other (by Bernardine Evaristo) in my book group last month, to resounding positive comments. One of the things that made it experimental/brave was the lack of an over-arching narrative arc. Each individual story is complete, and related to the whole, but the stories don't move the narrative. One of the other book group members asked me if that bothered me (as I was the one to bring this point up for discussion) and I said no, not really, since the writing was so fine and the importance of the work was obvious. It's a slice of life, rather than a story, and it's brilliant.
Then I was kindly provided an advance reader copy of The Sound Mirror by Heidi James/Bluemoose Books.
The Sound Mirror is also a multi-ethnic, multi-generational story of women in Britain (mostly working class). Because Bluemoose seems to love novels by poets (of which James is one), the writing is startling in its precision and beauty. And because James is an award-winning thriller writer, the reader is tantalised through the novel with hints and clues about how the lives of these women will intersect. It's unfair, really, the speed with which I had to read to get to the end, because I so wanted to stop and enjoy the language. I guess I'll just have to read it again. ;)
And I concluded that actually, I *do* prefer novels that tell me a story in addition to giving me instruction on lives I won't ever live. There - I said it.
March 14, 2021
Heidi James has produced a spectacular exploration of three generations of one family and how past events and shame can pass down to future family members. It was rather eye-opening for me being a man discovering just how much mothers and daughters go through during their life and how much their outcome can be changed by one decision going against them, the changes that Ada goes through are incredibly drastic. The book has scenes that were heart-breaking and others that dazzled they were so full of love.
The writing is poetic at times and the characters feel so real, it has been a while since I’ve read a book containing such vivid characters and whilst there are three different storylines I was constantly thinking back to what had happened and what could possibly happen next to them. There was a real love/hate relationship with the characters too, whilst life was throwing them a bad ‘un you really felt for them but when it was them being the cause of stress you felt like picking them up by their lapels and giving them a good telling them off. The plot was intriguing, for a lot of the book I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out and how the characters were related, when things were revealed you couldn’t fault the choices made.
I have really enjoyed this, following the lives of these three women during three very different time periods was fantastic, how James managed to juggle them and make the changes between chapters feel seamless boggles my mind. The first book I’ve read by Heidi James and it has left me craving more of her books.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2021...
The writing is poetic at times and the characters feel so real, it has been a while since I’ve read a book containing such vivid characters and whilst there are three different storylines I was constantly thinking back to what had happened and what could possibly happen next to them. There was a real love/hate relationship with the characters too, whilst life was throwing them a bad ‘un you really felt for them but when it was them being the cause of stress you felt like picking them up by their lapels and giving them a good telling them off. The plot was intriguing, for a lot of the book I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out and how the characters were related, when things were revealed you couldn’t fault the choices made.
I have really enjoyed this, following the lives of these three women during three very different time periods was fantastic, how James managed to juggle them and make the changes between chapters feel seamless boggles my mind. The first book I’ve read by Heidi James and it has left me craving more of her books.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2021...
July 25, 2020
The Sound Mirror is a first-rate piece of fiction.
If you haven't yet read it, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy.
The novel is about three central characters – all women – with distinct histories and voices. Spanning 20th and 21st century Britain, The Sound Mirror is a multi-generational examination of the female experience.
This might sound like a bit of a heavy read, but James is a very talented writer. It's not at all complicated, just thought-provoking.
These three female perspectives are interwoven with stunning prose. It’s a tessellation of the fall of the Indian Raj, gender politics of post-WW2 Britain, and, lastly, a glimpse into the contemporary female experience.
If you would like to find out more detail, please read the full review on Tales from Absurdia.
*Disclaimer: I received a free advance reading copy from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
If you haven't yet read it, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy.
The novel is about three central characters – all women – with distinct histories and voices. Spanning 20th and 21st century Britain, The Sound Mirror is a multi-generational examination of the female experience.
This might sound like a bit of a heavy read, but James is a very talented writer. It's not at all complicated, just thought-provoking.
These three female perspectives are interwoven with stunning prose. It’s a tessellation of the fall of the Indian Raj, gender politics of post-WW2 Britain, and, lastly, a glimpse into the contemporary female experience.
If you would like to find out more detail, please read the full review on Tales from Absurdia.
*Disclaimer: I received a free advance reading copy from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
December 1, 2020
It took me ages to get going with this. Not because of the writing - that's clear and evocative - but because I knew it would be rough. And it was. I read most of it in the last couple of days and it's knocked me for six really. So much damage handed down generation to generation. And so many aspects of the key relationships that are horribly familiar to me. James also nails being working class in the seventies without it being kitsch. Bruising but worth it.
September 11, 2020
I am reading through the Goodreads list of eligible books for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize. https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/ This prize seeks to reward “creative daring and fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form” The shortlist of 6 books will be announced on Sept 30. Let’s see how many of them I can have read in advance!
This novel has 3 different story strands interwoven throughout the book that appear to have no relation to each other. Each story line depicts a separate woman and much of her life history. There was good characterization and each plot line seemed interesting and many-faceted. I really enjoyed the first 80% of the book and was ready to give it 4 stars at that point.
However, the ending changed my mind. Not only did it seem jarring but the components listed above that contribute to a prize winning Goldsmiths book were very weak and underplayed. The first item vaguely innovative was the use of a commenting chorus in the lines of one of the women. This was only noticeable by the use of “WE”as the subject of several observations, but not used enough to be of any advantage to the story (that I could see).
The second technique that might be considered innovative or creative was in the way the three story lines came together near the end. I thought this was clunkily done In a way that didn’t seem very interesting or creative, thus lowering my rating to 3 stars.
.My rating on the chance of this book making the shortlist on a scale of 1 to 10 is also a 3.
This novel has 3 different story strands interwoven throughout the book that appear to have no relation to each other. Each story line depicts a separate woman and much of her life history. There was good characterization and each plot line seemed interesting and many-faceted. I really enjoyed the first 80% of the book and was ready to give it 4 stars at that point.
However, the ending changed my mind. Not only did it seem jarring but the components listed above that contribute to a prize winning Goldsmiths book were very weak and underplayed. The first item vaguely innovative was the use of a commenting chorus in the lines of one of the women. This was only noticeable by the use of “WE”as the subject of several observations, but not used enough to be of any advantage to the story (that I could see).
The second technique that might be considered innovative or creative was in the way the three story lines came together near the end. I thought this was clunkily done In a way that didn’t seem very interesting or creative, thus lowering my rating to 3 stars.
.My rating on the chance of this book making the shortlist on a scale of 1 to 10 is also a 3.
June 30, 2020
The Sound Mirror is an elegantly constructed easy-reading hard book. The short chapters, loaded with the confusion of past and current pain, can be pondered one by one, or devoured in accelerating frenzy. The lives move on so quickly, irreparable damage is done in instants, and everyone just lives the way they can until they can’t. There are nice turns of phrase: “music crystallised like sugar”. The philosophy is upfront and centre: “History is a halter that leads, we’re beasts of burden with a ring though our nose”. The women are believable, the men are unexplored, part of the environment, either benign or damaging, like the weather. This is not a criticism, since this is a book about women. It is neither sugar-coated nor sensationalist, carefully pitched in its handling of trauma. The sense is of anger and sympathy, of painful acknowledgement, of surviving; and ultimately of the chance if not the certainty of manumission, of travelling through and coming out the other side to healing. I'm reminded again of the dread joyous responsibility of being a parent to young children. I expect it will reward re-reading. Recommended.
June 5, 2021
I read this 9 months ago, but having just read a so-so book that was nominated for The Women’s Prize I felt motivated to sing the praises of this brilliant novel. This story of 3 mothers from different decades should have been nominated for any number of literary prizes. The writing is intelligent, the engaging story lines move at a good pace, the characters are all fully fleshed out and as complex and contradictory as real human beings, and the insights into human nature, into what motivates us, scares, scars us, and what we yearn for set this book apart from the many I’ve read in the nine months since I finished this.
I have not stopped thinking about the women in this story, especially Clare; Clare still floats up in my memory and it takes a moment for me to remember that she’s a character in a book, not someone I know, although I do know Clare. Any woman who reads this books will recognize the characters as women in their own extended family or circle of friends.
This is an outstanding book and I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
I have not stopped thinking about the women in this story, especially Clare; Clare still floats up in my memory and it takes a moment for me to remember that she’s a character in a book, not someone I know, although I do know Clare. Any woman who reads this books will recognize the characters as women in their own extended family or circle of friends.
This is an outstanding book and I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
July 7, 2020
I have just finished and enjoyed The Sound Mirror - a tantalising exploration of three women, three generations and a literary, articulate and elegant observation of the power and potential of nature versus nurture. I confess the first chapter - albeit with an attention-grabbing first line - did give me pause. For me, too many anonymous 'she' and then 'we' as an intro, which pulled me out of reading it to wonder which she, who are the 'we'. Fear not, the intrigue is unravelled and worth the wait. There are some delicious dips into previous eras to enjoy, too.
May 30, 2021
A beautiful intergenerational exploration of family, place, class, and race. Clues were drip fed, so you try to untangle and understand the web as you read. I didn't understand the purpose of the collective voice of the ancestors, until I was duped by the first red herring. Thinking you had it all figured out was part of the enjoyment.
September 26, 2021
Brutal, but I loved it.
September 10, 2020
The first thing I have to state is that James’ prose is beyond stunning. I sometimes like to copy out sentences that I find particularly beautiful or meaningful, and I honestly had to give up as I was just copying out the whole text. From the opening lines, the novel grabbed me and didn’t let go:
“She is going to kill her mother today. But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain. It’s a beautiful day for it, winter sharp, the sky an unfussy blue.”
What a way to start a novel. And it got better and better from there.
The chapters alternate between three third person viewpoints: Tamara, Claire and Ada. The story is narrated in the present tense, which creates a wonderful sense of moving between time and space, entering into the lives of these women at different points. Their chapters each have a unique voice – even though ‘I’ is not used, we are immersed in their worlds by the shifting grammar and syntax which clearly marks out the three stories. Honestly, James does this better than many writers who use the first person for their multiple viewpoints. Claire’s chapters in particular are so full of her personality that I warmed to her immediately.
The three main characters are complex and nuanced. Each has an intriguing starting point: Tamara bears the emotional and physical scars of a traumatic childhood; Claire longs to avoid repeating history and becoming her mother; and Ada is taken away from her home in India to cold, grey England to start a new life. The different time periods are evoked rather than stated, and it took me a little while to orientate myself, but this only adds to the sense of lives overlapping and history repeating itself. What impressed me the most was the ways in which the characters develop and change as the novel progresses, most notably Ada and Claire as their stories are more linear; I was so invested in them as characters that I took their actions very personally, and the frustration I felt when they disappointed me at times was not through them acting out of character but merely proving their human frailty. When fictional characters hurt you, you know the author is doing something right.
Tamara seems to me to have a different role to play in the novel – her narrative dips in and out of her childhood, adolescence and beyond, and her chapters provide some of the novel’s most profound insights into the way in which genes, ancestory and history do not so much guide as lead us:
“You imagine history trails you like clanging tin cans on a wedding car, but you’re wrong. History is a halter that leads, we’re beasts of burden with a ring through our nose.”
The “we” voice that trails her, a sort of chorus, reminded me a little of Akwaeke Emezi’s beautiful novel Freshwater, whose protagonist has gods living inside her. This plurality, the echoes of other lives that reside within us, comes together beautifully at the end of The Sound Mirror, in a way I did not see coming.
The Sound Mirror is a dazzling achievement: a razor-sharp, insightful novel with fully realised characters and a perfectly-judged balance of ideas and story. I will be getting my hands on everything else this author has written as soon as possible – James is a fiercely talented writer, and I am so pleased to have been introduced to her work through this beautiful book.
“She is going to kill her mother today. But she’s no monster. She’s not the villain. It’s a beautiful day for it, winter sharp, the sky an unfussy blue.”
What a way to start a novel. And it got better and better from there.
The chapters alternate between three third person viewpoints: Tamara, Claire and Ada. The story is narrated in the present tense, which creates a wonderful sense of moving between time and space, entering into the lives of these women at different points. Their chapters each have a unique voice – even though ‘I’ is not used, we are immersed in their worlds by the shifting grammar and syntax which clearly marks out the three stories. Honestly, James does this better than many writers who use the first person for their multiple viewpoints. Claire’s chapters in particular are so full of her personality that I warmed to her immediately.
The three main characters are complex and nuanced. Each has an intriguing starting point: Tamara bears the emotional and physical scars of a traumatic childhood; Claire longs to avoid repeating history and becoming her mother; and Ada is taken away from her home in India to cold, grey England to start a new life. The different time periods are evoked rather than stated, and it took me a little while to orientate myself, but this only adds to the sense of lives overlapping and history repeating itself. What impressed me the most was the ways in which the characters develop and change as the novel progresses, most notably Ada and Claire as their stories are more linear; I was so invested in them as characters that I took their actions very personally, and the frustration I felt when they disappointed me at times was not through them acting out of character but merely proving their human frailty. When fictional characters hurt you, you know the author is doing something right.
Tamara seems to me to have a different role to play in the novel – her narrative dips in and out of her childhood, adolescence and beyond, and her chapters provide some of the novel’s most profound insights into the way in which genes, ancestory and history do not so much guide as lead us:
“You imagine history trails you like clanging tin cans on a wedding car, but you’re wrong. History is a halter that leads, we’re beasts of burden with a ring through our nose.”
The “we” voice that trails her, a sort of chorus, reminded me a little of Akwaeke Emezi’s beautiful novel Freshwater, whose protagonist has gods living inside her. This plurality, the echoes of other lives that reside within us, comes together beautifully at the end of The Sound Mirror, in a way I did not see coming.
The Sound Mirror is a dazzling achievement: a razor-sharp, insightful novel with fully realised characters and a perfectly-judged balance of ideas and story. I will be getting my hands on everything else this author has written as soon as possible – James is a fiercely talented writer, and I am so pleased to have been introduced to her work through this beautiful book.
September 10, 2020
This book is EXCELLENT! Heidi James is an absolutely brilliant writer & I am absolutely in awe of her writing style. This is just the kind of book I love. I actually knew nothing about this book before I read it (I hadn’t even read a synopsis) & I think I enjoyed it even more for that reason because the way the story unfolded came as a total surprise. Highly recommended.
October 28, 2020
The Sound Mirror is a phenomenal book. The tracking of voices through decades is astonishing: without ever seeing a date, the reader knows the era and travels with the character, living in the same places and conversations. The voices ended up making me hear them in the accents they have – or that I perceived. Heidi’s use of language stretches from the commonplace to the expansive and it is always what it needs to be for a given scene or segment. She drops in imagery and humour like small asides that jolted me out of the drama and fury. I felt pushed and pulled by the story and how it would all tie together. As a reader I was moved, but not emotional. I just felt I’d been given a harsh dose of reality about how those lives intertwined with each other and with life and society and community. As a writer I saw things that make me want to work harder and be better. I could say loads more. But will repeat: The Sound Mirror is a phenomenal book.
July 23, 2020
I loved this and quickly got absorbed in the characters. I'm normally not a fan of short snappy chapters but in this case it worked a treat. It felt as though you could start this book anywhere and work your way round back to where you started and it would still flow perfectly as a read.
August 22, 2020
The Sound Mirror by Heidi James has been bobbing around on my radar for a while now. It is published by BlueMoose Books this month and is part of their fantastic initiative to publish only women writers this year. BlueMoose have never let me down yet, and hey, it looks like they are some of the few people on the planet getting 2020 nailed!!
Everything I had heard, and indeed continue to hear, about The Sound Mirror is overwhelming positive. Twitter is alive with fantastic reviews every day and this book has created a buzz even before it has been published. Who doesn’t want to read a book like that?? So thank you Heidi and Blue Moose for my gifted copy, and spoiler alert; it’s going on the forever shelf.
Anyway, enough of me blathering, let’s get to the meat of the matter… What is The Sound Mirror all about?
This is the story of three women; Tamara, Ada, and Claire. Each story is told gradually, each interspersed with the other. Their stories are told in the third person, but in the present tense, which became very important to me as the novel progressed. Because it is through the use of the present tense that you have a sense of really getting to know these women. The writing and the way it is constructed is a window into their thoughts, preoccupations and struggles.
The three stories span different times and places. Tamara’s story in grounded in the present, with a sense of looking back. Her narrative is less linear and much more fragmented that the other women. This fractured narrative reflects the nature of Tamara’s story, adds a sense of intrigue and tension which runs throughout the novel, driving it forward. And Tamara’s story begins the novel with a blinding opening line…
She is going to kill her mother today.
The Sound Mirror – Heidi James
I mean who doesn’t want to follow that line up!!!
The other women’s stories are set over a comparable time frame. We meet them in the 1940’s and move with them through the narrative to the end of their lives. Claire is one of a large catholic Italian family, living in London, helping out with the family grocers business, falling in love and moving forwards. Ada is mixed race, leaving India at the end of British rule, the fall of the Raj. Used to a life of colour, warmth and plenty, the grey skies and constraints of a life in England are hard to adjust to.
These two women are different on many ways. There are clear differences in lifestyle, class, opportunities and outlook. But equally there are many things that bind them, both are constrained in many ways. Expectations and the judgement of society continually intervene to change the course of their lives. The frustrations they both feel in different ways about their own wishes, wants, talents and needs being ignored shape the choices they make, their interactions with others, their own mental health and ultimately future generations. Heidi James shows us how other characters perception of these women begin to colour their sense of self . How much, we are encouraged to ask, are we a product of our experiences and how far does this reach into our lives and the lives of those around us?
All three of these women are multi layered, complex and ultimately flawed. They are relatable, believable and even though they are sometimes hostile, and unsettling, as a reader we care about their narratives. These are women each with a clear voice who aren’t static in their representation. They change throughout the novel, life and experiences change them. And consequently our opinion of them changes too.
For the majority of the novel these narratives move along quite separately. Although themes and issues unite them, the characters themselves don’t interact. But then, suddenly, the narratives come together in a way that is perfect, not contrived not forced, just a reflection of the skill and care the author has displayed throughout.
Running through out this novel is an exploration of the theme of motherhood in all its forms and guises. Heidi James depicts and equally challenges the accepted societal definition of motherhood. She raises a myriad of questions throughout. What happens if you don’t want children? What gives society the right to impose motherhood and it’s impossible standards on all women, regardless of their own ambitions and inclinations? What makes a ‘good mother’, and who indeed defines what a good mother is? What is the effect of a ‘bad mother’? What does it takes to be a mother emotionally and physically? Is the balance of motherhood’s rewards and trials equal for all women, and what happens when everything becomes overwhelming? Is a mother’s love unconditional ? What do you bring from one generation to the next and is the past always going to be a defining part of you?
This book is packed with questions, considerations and empathy. It takes the traditional lot of women, grabs it by the ankles and gives it a damn good shake. At times it will make you smile, you will nod along in understanding, you might just feel uncomfortable and it will definitely ignite the fires of injustice and anger in your belly. Thank you Heidi for the chance to read this beauty. You have a winner on your hands here.
Everything I had heard, and indeed continue to hear, about The Sound Mirror is overwhelming positive. Twitter is alive with fantastic reviews every day and this book has created a buzz even before it has been published. Who doesn’t want to read a book like that?? So thank you Heidi and Blue Moose for my gifted copy, and spoiler alert; it’s going on the forever shelf.
Anyway, enough of me blathering, let’s get to the meat of the matter… What is The Sound Mirror all about?
This is the story of three women; Tamara, Ada, and Claire. Each story is told gradually, each interspersed with the other. Their stories are told in the third person, but in the present tense, which became very important to me as the novel progressed. Because it is through the use of the present tense that you have a sense of really getting to know these women. The writing and the way it is constructed is a window into their thoughts, preoccupations and struggles.
The three stories span different times and places. Tamara’s story in grounded in the present, with a sense of looking back. Her narrative is less linear and much more fragmented that the other women. This fractured narrative reflects the nature of Tamara’s story, adds a sense of intrigue and tension which runs throughout the novel, driving it forward. And Tamara’s story begins the novel with a blinding opening line…
She is going to kill her mother today.
The Sound Mirror – Heidi James
I mean who doesn’t want to follow that line up!!!
The other women’s stories are set over a comparable time frame. We meet them in the 1940’s and move with them through the narrative to the end of their lives. Claire is one of a large catholic Italian family, living in London, helping out with the family grocers business, falling in love and moving forwards. Ada is mixed race, leaving India at the end of British rule, the fall of the Raj. Used to a life of colour, warmth and plenty, the grey skies and constraints of a life in England are hard to adjust to.
These two women are different on many ways. There are clear differences in lifestyle, class, opportunities and outlook. But equally there are many things that bind them, both are constrained in many ways. Expectations and the judgement of society continually intervene to change the course of their lives. The frustrations they both feel in different ways about their own wishes, wants, talents and needs being ignored shape the choices they make, their interactions with others, their own mental health and ultimately future generations. Heidi James shows us how other characters perception of these women begin to colour their sense of self . How much, we are encouraged to ask, are we a product of our experiences and how far does this reach into our lives and the lives of those around us?
All three of these women are multi layered, complex and ultimately flawed. They are relatable, believable and even though they are sometimes hostile, and unsettling, as a reader we care about their narratives. These are women each with a clear voice who aren’t static in their representation. They change throughout the novel, life and experiences change them. And consequently our opinion of them changes too.
For the majority of the novel these narratives move along quite separately. Although themes and issues unite them, the characters themselves don’t interact. But then, suddenly, the narratives come together in a way that is perfect, not contrived not forced, just a reflection of the skill and care the author has displayed throughout.
Running through out this novel is an exploration of the theme of motherhood in all its forms and guises. Heidi James depicts and equally challenges the accepted societal definition of motherhood. She raises a myriad of questions throughout. What happens if you don’t want children? What gives society the right to impose motherhood and it’s impossible standards on all women, regardless of their own ambitions and inclinations? What makes a ‘good mother’, and who indeed defines what a good mother is? What is the effect of a ‘bad mother’? What does it takes to be a mother emotionally and physically? Is the balance of motherhood’s rewards and trials equal for all women, and what happens when everything becomes overwhelming? Is a mother’s love unconditional ? What do you bring from one generation to the next and is the past always going to be a defining part of you?
This book is packed with questions, considerations and empathy. It takes the traditional lot of women, grabs it by the ankles and gives it a damn good shake. At times it will make you smile, you will nod along in understanding, you might just feel uncomfortable and it will definitely ignite the fires of injustice and anger in your belly. Thank you Heidi for the chance to read this beauty. You have a winner on your hands here.
August 21, 2020
Tamara is on the way to kill her mother, but things are not all they seem. Tamara is not the monster here, and as she looks back on her traumatic childhood and her difficult relationship with her mother, we can see how things have come to this point.
But this is not just Tamara's story. In this book, we will get to know the life stories of Claire, with her poor working class background and Italian immigrant parents, and Ada, taken from her childhood home of India and struggling to find a new place for herself in cold, grey England - both their lives marked by war, family and the expectations placed on them.
How are these women linked and how do the reverberations of the past affect the future?
*****************************************************
The Sound Mirror is the second book published by Bluemoose Books in 2020, as part of the year of publishing books exclusively from women writers - after the mesmerising Saving Lucia by Anna Vaught in April 2020.
I went into this book cold, without reading the blurb, which I am wont to do, and for me, this is definitely the best way to read this book, as it makes it the most wonderful voyage of discovery.
Here we have the story of three women:
Claire, the child of Italian immigrants, growing up as part of a poor, working class family in Kent. The course of Claire's life is laid out for her and shaped by her childhood in the 1940s/50s, in which looking after her numerous younger siblings and working hard in her father's fruit and vegetable business are the only options available until marriage. She longs to live a different life from her worn out mother, and is adamant that hers will be a different fate.
Ada, newly transplanted from India to an unwelcoming post-war Britain, finding it hard to adjust to ordinary life after the pampered existence she has always known, and coming to rely on the pale features inherited from her Irish grandfather and half-truths about her heritage to carve a future in this new world - one she hopes will be free of restraint.
And Tamara, a young woman of the modern age, and yet indelibly marked by a difficult relationship with her mother, and the heritage of the blood that runs in her veins.
Who are these women, and what is their relationship to one another? As the life stories of Claire and Ada play out in the present tense, and we simultaneously follow Tamara on her journey to see her dying mother whilst reminiscing on her traumatic past, it's hard to see how their lives touch. But as a reader, you get so absorbed in their separate stories and the rhythm of their lives, cutting back and forth between them throughout, that it ceases to even be a question in your mind after a while.
So, when the connection is revealed in the most delicious fait accompli by out author Heid James it hits you with shocking force, bringing everything into focus with sharp clarity as all the myriad pieces fall into place.
This books is quite simply outstanding. The writing is superb and fully transports you into the lives of all three women - their frustrations, jealousies, yearnings, shame, and their secret rebellions against the weight of the expectation forced upon them by family, class and the drudgery of ordinary life. As the echoes of the past are collected and concentrated to be bounced forward into the future, like some monstrous titular sound mirror, it somehow proves impossible for these women to break away from the haunting legacy of their blood, no matter how hard they try, and their experiences cut you to the quick.
The Sound Mirror is one of my favourite reads this year, and it is a book that begs to be read over again as soon as you have finished, so you can extract every subtlety and shade to the absolute max.
But this is not just Tamara's story. In this book, we will get to know the life stories of Claire, with her poor working class background and Italian immigrant parents, and Ada, taken from her childhood home of India and struggling to find a new place for herself in cold, grey England - both their lives marked by war, family and the expectations placed on them.
How are these women linked and how do the reverberations of the past affect the future?
*****************************************************
The Sound Mirror is the second book published by Bluemoose Books in 2020, as part of the year of publishing books exclusively from women writers - after the mesmerising Saving Lucia by Anna Vaught in April 2020.
I went into this book cold, without reading the blurb, which I am wont to do, and for me, this is definitely the best way to read this book, as it makes it the most wonderful voyage of discovery.
Here we have the story of three women:
Claire, the child of Italian immigrants, growing up as part of a poor, working class family in Kent. The course of Claire's life is laid out for her and shaped by her childhood in the 1940s/50s, in which looking after her numerous younger siblings and working hard in her father's fruit and vegetable business are the only options available until marriage. She longs to live a different life from her worn out mother, and is adamant that hers will be a different fate.
Ada, newly transplanted from India to an unwelcoming post-war Britain, finding it hard to adjust to ordinary life after the pampered existence she has always known, and coming to rely on the pale features inherited from her Irish grandfather and half-truths about her heritage to carve a future in this new world - one she hopes will be free of restraint.
And Tamara, a young woman of the modern age, and yet indelibly marked by a difficult relationship with her mother, and the heritage of the blood that runs in her veins.
Who are these women, and what is their relationship to one another? As the life stories of Claire and Ada play out in the present tense, and we simultaneously follow Tamara on her journey to see her dying mother whilst reminiscing on her traumatic past, it's hard to see how their lives touch. But as a reader, you get so absorbed in their separate stories and the rhythm of their lives, cutting back and forth between them throughout, that it ceases to even be a question in your mind after a while.
So, when the connection is revealed in the most delicious fait accompli by out author Heid James it hits you with shocking force, bringing everything into focus with sharp clarity as all the myriad pieces fall into place.
This books is quite simply outstanding. The writing is superb and fully transports you into the lives of all three women - their frustrations, jealousies, yearnings, shame, and their secret rebellions against the weight of the expectation forced upon them by family, class and the drudgery of ordinary life. As the echoes of the past are collected and concentrated to be bounced forward into the future, like some monstrous titular sound mirror, it somehow proves impossible for these women to break away from the haunting legacy of their blood, no matter how hard they try, and their experiences cut you to the quick.
The Sound Mirror is one of my favourite reads this year, and it is a book that begs to be read over again as soon as you have finished, so you can extract every subtlety and shade to the absolute max.
July 4, 2021
The trials and tribulations of being a human, or, more specifically, a woman. The trials range from family and abuse, through gender, sexism, post-colonialism and racism. The title suggests how we reflect the family, society and the world and its influences all around us. It's a struggle, and the world very unforgiving, but we're programmed to overcome and survive, and we do, although it feels like a very lonesome battle, and with resignation accept we're unlikely to achieve our true potential. Aspects are set in the near past through to the present. It is well crafted, easy to read, and written with a real verve. The characters come alive in the imagination, a mark of quality inherent in the writing. The prosaic use of platitudes that are thrown at us strikes like a voice that is unremittingly familiar. Pride before a fall, Lady Muck, sight for sore eyes, etc., all phrases anyone brought up in a 50s or 60s home will instantly recognise. For a book that is rare on sunny moments, it is not as bleak as one might expect, despite the dark undercurrent. A sympathetic indomitable spirit does shine through. The characters, flawed, and knowing that, are determined to give it their best shot. It is exceedingly feminine in outlook and virtually no attempt is made to portray a male perspective. It's almost as if males are incidental, largely irrelevant and highly superfluous (perhaps we are). But, at the same time, it is not writing with an 'agenda'; it's simply a telling it how it is fable. As a piece of honest writing full of insights, it stands high. The everyday language that is so recognisable instantly charms. I thoroughly recommend this book. It is well deserving of the high praise that it has received.
August 28, 2020
3 women, 3 stories, one common thread
Tamara is driving to kill her mother, Claire is being evacuated from the war and Ida is leaving India for a new life in England. How will their stories pan out?
This beautifully written piece of literature moves between the 3 women, as time and years pass, showing their struggles and successes. Near the end of the book their connection is made clear.
I read this book in advanced readers format, so had no idea what it was about when I started, but loved So the Doves by this author, and her story telling and writing style. I did find the connection between the women and the timelines confusing, and this distracted me from the strong themes of acceptance, difference and change running through the book. I feel I therefore missed out on the enjoyment and pleasure that this book would have given me if I had started it a little more informed. Definitely the sort of book I would have loved to have studied, and certainly one for discussion, and re-reading.
Another work of beauty and stunning literature from this author, but I do advise reading a little about the book before you start, so you can benefit from the amazing prose, and avoid the confusion I felt. A book of beauty, depth and thoughtfulness. Glad to see it is receiving great reviews, I really think I need to read it again!
Tamara is driving to kill her mother, Claire is being evacuated from the war and Ida is leaving India for a new life in England. How will their stories pan out?
This beautifully written piece of literature moves between the 3 women, as time and years pass, showing their struggles and successes. Near the end of the book their connection is made clear.
I read this book in advanced readers format, so had no idea what it was about when I started, but loved So the Doves by this author, and her story telling and writing style. I did find the connection between the women and the timelines confusing, and this distracted me from the strong themes of acceptance, difference and change running through the book. I feel I therefore missed out on the enjoyment and pleasure that this book would have given me if I had started it a little more informed. Definitely the sort of book I would have loved to have studied, and certainly one for discussion, and re-reading.
Another work of beauty and stunning literature from this author, but I do advise reading a little about the book before you start, so you can benefit from the amazing prose, and avoid the confusion I felt. A book of beauty, depth and thoughtfulness. Glad to see it is receiving great reviews, I really think I need to read it again!
November 12, 2020
One of those understated books that just makes you sit up, take notice of every single word, emotion and feeling and just admire the way the story was crafted and created! It's fair to say I adored every page!
As we meet the main character, Tamara, she is on her way to kill her mother ... there's more to this story than meets the eye! And what transpires over the course of the book is Tamara and her story, interwoven with 2 other fascinating women, Claire and Ada. 3 very different women, with very different stories to tell, and all as captivating, dark, troubling and fascinating as each other.
This is a book that tells the story of women who are undervalued, who are belittled, controlled, constantly being picked apart and shows the damage that creates on their personas. Your heart just aches for the women and the struggles they face on a day to day basis. It was so clear to see that these women were just living life doing what was expected of them, feeling trapped and seemingly forever living this cycle of disappointment.
This was such a clever and unique book . I loved the way the stories linked and how the roles of women are often just taken for granted, no matter what the woman actually wants! It's an insightful, honest and sobering - it blew me away and I'm already eager to read it again!!
As we meet the main character, Tamara, she is on her way to kill her mother ... there's more to this story than meets the eye! And what transpires over the course of the book is Tamara and her story, interwoven with 2 other fascinating women, Claire and Ada. 3 very different women, with very different stories to tell, and all as captivating, dark, troubling and fascinating as each other.
This is a book that tells the story of women who are undervalued, who are belittled, controlled, constantly being picked apart and shows the damage that creates on their personas. Your heart just aches for the women and the struggles they face on a day to day basis. It was so clear to see that these women were just living life doing what was expected of them, feeling trapped and seemingly forever living this cycle of disappointment.
This was such a clever and unique book . I loved the way the stories linked and how the roles of women are often just taken for granted, no matter what the woman actually wants! It's an insightful, honest and sobering - it blew me away and I'm already eager to read it again!!
August 26, 2020
This characteristically dark and powerful novel from Heidi James is the best thing I’ve read all year. It’s a coruscating look at class, womanhood and belonging, told through the stories of three women from the same family, spanning multiple continents and generations. It’s visceral, raw, uncompromising stuff, the multiple voices swinging from glacial detachment to howling rage, and it’s devastatingly sad in places too. There are some seriously smart ideas about genetics, trauma and lost futures underpinning the narratives as well, once you start to untwist the strands. As with all her work, there’s always much more going on than first appears on the surface, layers and layers of hidden details to be found and meanings to be deciphered upon close reading of the text. The prose is crisp and clean throughout; she has a wonderful economy of style that doesn’t allow for a single word to be wasted – every one counts, and there are some dazzling images to be found throughout. A brave, brutal and brilliant book – buy buy buy.
August 5, 2020
The Sound Mirror is a beautifully-written, thoughtful novel, full of poetic phrasing that traces the lives of three women. The novel is concerned with nature and nurture and explores Clare, Tamara, and Ada's relationships with their mothers, children and men.
It's so refreshing to see realistic working-class women on the page and to hear from Ada, a complex character who is plucked from India as a young girl. The novel reads almost like a biography the author captures the voices so well, until two-thirds of the way through the novel, when the narrative takes a surprising and devastating turn. At this point you appreciate even more the skill of the writer in building the details, drop by delicious drop. The ending resonates and amplifies the underlying questions that the book explores - how can we live with or escape our past?
Moving and poignant. One to re-read.
My copy of this novel was kindly supplied by the author, Heidi James.
It's so refreshing to see realistic working-class women on the page and to hear from Ada, a complex character who is plucked from India as a young girl. The novel reads almost like a biography the author captures the voices so well, until two-thirds of the way through the novel, when the narrative takes a surprising and devastating turn. At this point you appreciate even more the skill of the writer in building the details, drop by delicious drop. The ending resonates and amplifies the underlying questions that the book explores - how can we live with or escape our past?
Moving and poignant. One to re-read.
My copy of this novel was kindly supplied by the author, Heidi James.
March 12, 2022
It took me a minute to get caught up in the cadence of the three women's lives even as they were painful to read. The unique tying together of their lives is expertly done by Heidi James. I felt a paradoxical sense of being in their consciousness and also viewing them from a distance. Perhaps I was self-regulating because of the toxicity of some of the mothering. I notice many of the reviewers have called the mothering flawed but loving. Flawed, yes. Loving, no. Tamara's mother appears bi-polar. True, in her time, unnamed and untreated. Yet, cruel is cruel. Mean is mean. Damaging is damaging.
I can see the 'narrative chorus' in the "we's, you's, and us", and also saw it as a multiple personality disorder with Tamara having a strong core. I realize I'm not so forgiving of toxic mothers.
I very much appreciate and value James' writing skills, plotting, and character depths. While not enjoying the story, I enjoyed her excellent writing!
I can see the 'narrative chorus' in the "we's, you's, and us", and also saw it as a multiple personality disorder with Tamara having a strong core. I realize I'm not so forgiving of toxic mothers.
I very much appreciate and value James' writing skills, plotting, and character depths. While not enjoying the story, I enjoyed her excellent writing!
October 11, 2020
“She’s going to kill her mother today…it’s a beautiful day for it.”
The mystery in the novel is not just the how and why but also the who. Who is the soon-to-be-deceased mother of Tamara in relation to two other characters – Claire and Ada?
I confess that the structure disoriented me at first. Shuttling between Tamara, Ada and Claire means that just as you start to settle into one story, you are wrenched out and plunged into another.
But the story is so beautifully crafted, it more than rewards the initial effort, and everything is synthesised by the end.
This is a carefully constructed puzzle with a very simple key.
What more can a reader wish for than a great big satisfying….aaah at the end.
The mystery in the novel is not just the how and why but also the who. Who is the soon-to-be-deceased mother of Tamara in relation to two other characters – Claire and Ada?
I confess that the structure disoriented me at first. Shuttling between Tamara, Ada and Claire means that just as you start to settle into one story, you are wrenched out and plunged into another.
But the story is so beautifully crafted, it more than rewards the initial effort, and everything is synthesised by the end.
This is a carefully constructed puzzle with a very simple key.
What more can a reader wish for than a great big satisfying….aaah at the end.
November 7, 2020
I’ve been so excited to read this book ever since hearing extracts from Heidi James’ podcasts last year. I read it in a couple of sittings and, in the in between, couldn’t wait to pick it up again.
I enjoyed the depth of the characters and their voices. These voices are filled with imagery and poetic flourishes of ordinary life which builds character, times and class depictions. The exploration of ancestry and its significance and effects on the lives of the characters is powerful and the way the narratives clicked together in themes and into a timeline was as beautifully seamless as it was a brilliant read.
I enjoyed the depth of the characters and their voices. These voices are filled with imagery and poetic flourishes of ordinary life which builds character, times and class depictions. The exploration of ancestry and its significance and effects on the lives of the characters is powerful and the way the narratives clicked together in themes and into a timeline was as beautifully seamless as it was a brilliant read.
June 22, 2021
Beautifully written and immersive story. Once I got into it it was really hard to put down.
I’m not going to lie though, despite the beautiful way it was written, half way through I was struggling a bit; it was pretty dark and I had no idea what the characters had to do with each other. I kept reading for Claire’s story and I am so glad I did.
The second half simply blew me away, what an emotional and touching story! I think to say much more would give too much away so I’ll just say that if you’ve picked this book up please stick with it.
It’s raw, emotional and in some ways shocking- I loved it!
I’m not going to lie though, despite the beautiful way it was written, half way through I was struggling a bit; it was pretty dark and I had no idea what the characters had to do with each other. I kept reading for Claire’s story and I am so glad I did.
The second half simply blew me away, what an emotional and touching story! I think to say much more would give too much away so I’ll just say that if you’ve picked this book up please stick with it.
It’s raw, emotional and in some ways shocking- I loved it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews