Embracing the contrast
Talking about quiet novels while writing one that starts with a bang
Quiet novels
Having talked about some unlikeable protagonists in my last newsletter, I’ve decided to change direction and think about some of the quiet novels that I’ve enjoyed in the past couple of years.
I’ve been reading Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers (see On the bedside table below), which, for me, qualifies as a quiet novel. Not just in its story but also in Clare Chambers’ writing. I felt the same about her novel from a few years ago, Small Pleasures.
It’s not that little happens in these stories, but often they are more focused on the emotional journey of the protagonist rather than being predominantly plot-driven.
I had a look back through The StoryGraph, where I record what I’m reading and have read, and can see that I do tend to favour quiet, reflective, emotions-driven books.
Here are a few I’ve read in the past few years that fall into the historical fiction (or at least, written and set pre-Second World War in the case of four of them):
The Return / After The War – Anita Frank
Still Life – Sarah Winman
The Hours – Michael Cunningham
Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
These Days – Lucy Caldwell
The Safe Keep – Yael van der Wouden
Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan
Trust – Hernan Diaz
The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
A Single Thread - Tracy Chevalier
The Enchanted April – Elizabeth von Arnim
Beyond That, the Sea – Laura Spence-Ash
The Awakening – Kate Chopin
Mother’s Boy – Patrick Gale
On the Black Hill – Bruce Chatwin
Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
Madonna in a Fur Coat – Sabahattin Ali
And yet, for all this talk of quiet novels, and for having written a quieter story (The Third Letter) as my first, it seems my next one will be something different from anything I expected.
What I’ve been up to recently
That was a bit of a teaser about my next story, wasn’t it? And do you remember when I said last month that I knew the ideas would spark and the words would come?
Well, yes. They did. But not on Beneath the Widening Sky.
I had a new idea. One that came to me only the day after I sent out my last newsletter.
It was sparked by two short sentences I read in a book about Sweden in the 1940s. And the idea grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. But there was Beneath the Widening Sky sitting there, waiting for me to write more.
I thought it would suffice to turn this new idea into a short story. I tried; I really did. But it was not enough. This idea was novel-length. And exciting. And it had me in its grip.
Three days after that, I was plotting an outline. Me plotting? I know. Unheard of.
Another couple of days and I had a 16-step outline. What was happening to this pantser?
I then spent a week at the national library here in Stockholm researching. And then I started writing. It’s only been a few weeks since this shiny new idea popped into my head and I already have more than 7,500 words down. (And I would have written more if it had not been for the school half-term holiday last week.)
I posted on Instagram, hinting about what the new story is about by showing some of the books I’ve been reading.
And here are a few more details:
🇸🇪 It’s set (mostly) in Stockholm, which was called the Casablanca of the North during the Second World War, as representatives of all the main parties were working there (mostly spying on one another)
🕵🏼♀️ It involves spies and espionage, but more specifically, women working as agents to uncover secrets from allies and enemies alike
🫦 There’s a love story at its heart, but also betrayal and anguish and some oh-so-very-torrid emotions (in other words, some of my favourite themes)
💥 It (currently) opens with a scene in which someone holds a gun to the back of the protagonist’s head – but what happens next?
I don’t think I can convey just how excited I am about this new story. It’s running through my mind all. the. time.
If you’ve been here more than five minutes, you’ll know that writing within the framework of an outline is a new venture for me. I believe this story, however – with its twists and turns – requires that. And I’m sure this is also why I’m already at seven and a half thousand words on the page.
Writing an outline for my novel? Seriously, I don’t even know who I am anymore. (And also, long may this last.)
On the bedside table
Shy Creatures – Clare Chambers: I knew I would like this one even before I started it. Twentieth century setting ☑️ By the author of Small Pleasures ☑️ And set in Croydon (where there is a street with which I share my name) ☑️ Travelling both forward and backward in time, it tells the story of how William came to be shut up in his aunt’s house for decades and what happens when he is taken to a psychiatric hospital and there meets art therapist Helen. Like Small Pleasures, it is one of those quiet novels of many depths that I enjoy so much.
We All Live Here – Jojo Moyes: I knew I had to get the latest novel from Jojo Moyes after I sat and sobbed through the last ten minutes of the film of her 1960s-set The Last Letter from Your Lover (having sobbed through the final chapters of the book a couple of years ago). Her latest is a contemporary novel about lost and found family. Yes, please.
The Secrets We Kept – Lara Prescott: Another one set in the twentieth century and this one features female spies. I bet you can guess why I’m reading this one at the moment. Secretaries working for the CIA, Boris Pasternak’s lover, and a female agent who works as a “swallow” to extract information, all linked by the publication story of Pasternak’s masterpiece, Doctor Zhivago.
You can check out what is on my TBR or pick up copies of my recent reads at Bookshop UK (affiliate link) if any have piqued your interest.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this, why not tap the heart up there at the top or down at the end of this email ❤️
Until the next time,
If you like this newsletter, you can buy me a virtual coffee - coffee always keeps me going ☕
As a reformed pantster myself, I wholeheartedly support the desire to plot your next novel. :) The premise sounds fascinating, and I can't wait to learn more.
WW2 female spies in Stockholm--yes please!! Sounds fab and a story that has yet to be told.