Atlantic Shift - Emily Barr

...takes a different turn in Atlantic shift and turns to the travelling-for-work-purposes that I engage in rather than the travelling-gap-year-style as in Backpack. In all of the books the travel aspect adds a unique dimension to the story - all have some part set in the UK, but great chunks of each take place abroad, in Australia or Cuba or Thailand or, as in this case, across the Atlantic in the USA.

The book appealed to be because ...
...the blurb on the back that made me certain it would be another wildly unpredictable book. I have very much enjoyed reading and re-reading it, but sometimes I think that wild unpredictability is just a tad too much. From the first chapter there are random, non-sensial sentences about people and places that have yet to be mentioned, except perhaps a chapter or two before in a previous random, non-sensial comment. I pick up on these when reading and ... more

If ever there was an utterly bizarre yet strangely intriguing way to begin a book, this was it: mid-way through her performance at a gala concert for a royal birthday, we join our main character just as she has decided to leave her husband. Evie is a reasonable musician who, dolled up in a pretty dress and some smart red lipstick, is being marketed as cellist supreme, the greatest thing ever to hit the classical world. The tabloids love her, her estranged husband loves her and her extended family love her, but right now she's not all that fond of herself.

"Sometimes I wonder if I am a truly horrible person. I suppose I am in many ways. I don't feel bad about it."

I like books that are easy to read but I also like good, juicy stories and the two do not always go hand in hand, especially when it comes to chick-lit which seems to have maybe 3 basic stories all books will follow. The thing I like about Emily Barr's books is that this is not the case. They are unique, original takes on modern life, and do not fit into neatly stereotyped storylines with happily single girls who secretly, deep down want to meet the perfect man and happily will do so by the last page. Instead we have a book that is blunt and too the point and, read by the wrong person in the wrong mood, could prove offensive:

"I have slept with 3 men in the past 3 weeks. This fact pleases me. I am desirable to 18, 30 and 40 year olds alike…I feel powerful."

The whole book is like this, with Evie quickly developing as a character you either see yourself in completely or someone you pity because she's so flawed. If it's the latter you may not enjoy the book as much because the story doesn't just feature Evie - she IS the story. The language really shows you her character both in the way other people perceive her and how she sees herself. The sentences are short and to the point. Descriptions are un-colourful and at times unintentionally negative - by removing the sugar coating you might mistakenly think a description of someone or something perfectly acceptable is actually despised by the speaker.

This is not the story of a girl who has made that one, memorable mistake in her past and suddenly wakes up one morning able to forget, or at least move forward. No, this is the story of a girl with so many skeletons in her closet she could open an orthopaedic museum. Evie may have a glamorous job and a semi-glamorous life, evidence of which is frequently published in the Mail and Evening Standard, but under the surface she is a girl who has more issues and more history than is normal, and as the story un-ravels, these come seeping out one by one. Many celebrities flit between protesting they are normal human beings underneath and living lavish, exotic lives that clearly show they are not. The interesting thing about Evie is that she does neither of these things - she is not a typical 30 year old but her exhilarating personal life is worlds away from here celebdom.

Barr has written 3 other bestsellers and this one is similar in many ways. Firstly, the main character is a sensible, forthright girl like Nina, the heroine in Baggage. Then there's the travel theme which, while present in all the other books, takes a different turn in Atlantic shift and turns to the travelling-for-work-purposes that I engage in rather than the travelling-gap-year-style as in Backpack. In all of the books the travel aspect adds a unique dimension to the story - all have some part set in the UK, but great chunks of each take place abroad, in Australia or Cuba or Thailand or, as in this case, across the Atlantic in the USA.

The book appealed to be because of the setting, because of the author and because of the blurb on the back that made me certain it would be another wildly unpredictable book. I have very much enjoyed reading and re-reading it, but sometimes I think that wild unpredictability is just a tad too much. From the first chapter there are random, non-sensial sentences about people and places that have yet to be mentioned, except perhaps a chapter or two before in a previous random, non-sensial comment. I pick up on these when reading and sometimes think I haven't been paying close enough attention to the story since I don't know who this person is, or what actually happened at the time being discussed. It's like watching a murder mystery, in the fact that you only really understand why what's said is said on reruns when you know the eventual conclusion, but is no so confusing that you need to read it again immediately to make any sense of it. Thus, if you are a read-once-and-discard-except-in-exceptional-circumstances kind of person, you might never really pick up on all the nuances present in the text.

The book stands out in my mind because the characters have real charm and the story real depth. It is not some surface flirtation with the themes, but a long brooding affair with them, and as such, once you're a good way in it is hard to put down.

I have the airport edition paperback, released last June, but it has just come out in mainstream paperback, £6.99 or under a fiver from Amazon.
 

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