MY LIFE IN BOOKS
Author Caroline Bishop talks about her love of dual timeline novels, and the key to writing a really great story
A book that really made an impression on me as a child was Fireweed by Jill Paton Walsh. It may have been the first example of historical fiction that I read, and I remember being really gripped and moved by this stor y of two children during the Blitz – the fact it was set during real events had a big emotional impact on me.
I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction, most often novels set in the 20th century, perhaps because the story feels recent and therefore more identifiable. My favourites include William Boyd’s Any Human Hear t, Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests. And I do love a dual timeline novel, which I now write myself. JoJo Moyes does this well – my favourite of hers is The Last Letter From Your Lover, which veers between the present and a stor y of 1960s forbidden love.
Last year I devoured Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls, which is funny, wise and brilliantly evocative of the 1940s New York theatre scene. Most of all it has a really strong central character who is so richly drawn, flaws and all, I felt I would happily read about her in any situation. Books with fascinating, well-rounded characters – another recent example being John Boyne’s The Hear t’s Invisible Furies – push me to create the strongest characters I can in my own writing, since I think that’s key to a good stor y.
One book I read multiple times, in part to see how he did it, is One Day by David Nicholls. It’s such a clever concept, with
Years ago my mum lent me Robert Radcliffe’s Under An English Heaven, a novel set at an American bomber base in England during World War Two. My grandfather ser ved in the Canadian air force during the war and was a navigator on Lancaster bombing missions over Europe, flying out of a base in the UK, and this book really brought home to me what he must have gone through. It’s wonder fully written and a really special book for my family – we’ve all read it.
I think sometimes you have to be in the right mood or stage of life for a book. I remember tr ying to read Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum and I couldn’t get past the first few chapters. A few years later I picked it up again and adored it. I don’t know what changed! Since then I’ve read ever ything she’s written and I think she’s brilliant. Life After Life is one of my all-time favourites.