L. V. Matthews on the best book she has read this year, the novel she always recommends and her biggest writing inspiration.
The first book I remember reading:
I remember reading Charlotte’s Web as a child and it having a deep impact on me. I suppose it’s because it posed such a big moral issue from the opening chapter – Wilbur’s upcoming slaughter and eight-year-old Fern, saving him. The book is so tender and moving and teaches the reader so much about friendship and also life and death. Now I’m older I think how crucial books like this are to our young people – dealing with huge life events, and also how to take pause and develop empathy for characters on the page which can translate to real life.
A book I recommend to everyone:
Little Eve, by Catriona Ward. She is a master of gothic noir. I have read all of Cat’s books, but this one is one I recommend most. It is such a brilliantly atmospheric and vivid read – Cat writes setting so incredibly well. Set between the years of 1917 and 1920, Little Eve is about a cult of people who live in the ruins of a manor in the wild Scottish North and the novel opens with the horrific massacre of all of them but one. What follows is the untangling of what happened at the manor in the years prior. It is a novel about family, and madness, and how easily young minds can be influenced and tipped toward violence.
The best book I have read in this year:
God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. I have been obsessed with Liz’s books since reading Long Bright River. God of the Woods is about the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, Barbara Van Laar, at a summer camp in 1975. But Barbara is the daughter of the family that owns the camp, and it is not the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared here. What follows is a panicked search for Barbara but what I loved was how brilliantly Moore creates such a rich and multilayered novel through many character perspectives. She focuses on identity, motherhood, and betrayal, and perhaps it is a quieter thriller than a lot of others, but it’s propulsive and has terrific drama.
The book I am most looking forward to:
I have been waiting (as have a lot of people) for the final installment of Phillip Pullman’s The Commonwealth Trilogy. When it was finally announced my mum and I messaged at the same time to tell each other as we both put alerts on it!
A book I didn’t finish:
I don’t usually give up on books, but I almost very nearly didn’t finish Shantaram.
An author that has inspired me:
Joyce Carol Oates. Each of her books is so different yet so brilliant. One thing I love about her writing is that she never shies away from the darkest of subject matters – she takes readers on a journey to the deepest parts of the human psyche so they can empathise with a villain as much as a protagonist and this is something that I really love to explore in my own books too. I have many favourites of hers but Blonde, Pursuit, and Babysitter are all up there. Oates is one of those authors who I will auto-buy a hardback without even knowing what it’s about because I know it’ll deliver exactly what I want – great writing, and unnerving characters.
The book I am reading now:
The Wedding People by Alison Espach – this was recommended to me by a friend and I really loved it. It is one of those books that genuinely makes you analyse what it means to be yourself with those you love. Set in Rhode Island, divorced Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn and is immediately mistaken as a wedding guest by those attending. Bride Lila has hired out the entire hotel but Phoebe definitely isn’t there for a party. As the novel progresses, Phoebe and Lila develop a friendship which is funny, tender, and at times frustrating, but so very real and nuanced. The secondary characters are also so wonderfully drawn and add such heart to the novel.
Liv Matthews is the author of Kindle bestseller The Twins. Her upcoming novel To Love a Liar is a heart-pounding and emotional thriller about marriage and deceit set in the Scottish Highlands. Liv worked for 10 years in publishing before leaving to pursue a career in writing. She has always been fascinated by the grit of the human psyche and what drives people to act in the dark ways that they do, which she explores through the topic of undercover policing in her new novel.
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