Crocodile Soup

This work is utterly unique and unlike anything I have ever read. Mixing surrealism and magic realism with the stark confronting realities of heartbreak and hardship, 'Crocodile Soup' is a magnificant and addictive little read and a individual find amongst lesbian centred fiction. It is particularly important to note that it is set in England, which gives it a unique and humourous voice amongst the predominantly American lesbian canon of literature. The writing is quite poetically beautiful and somewhat reminscient of Lia Block's 'Dangerous Angels' series, though generally more pointed and less whimsical. I adored the short little chapters, which made this work quite a fast and enticingly simple but important read. Additionally, the characters are utterly charming, whether they are likable or not. All the characters border on insanity (and some become so) and this lends the work an air of wonderful chaos and discord. They really are exceptional characterisations, and it is perhaps for this reason Darling's work is so successful. Overall, a magical, wonderfully addictive and beautiful book which I would highly recommend.

If you are interested in lesbian coming of age stories this one is of a higher quality than most others. It's funny and moving but also satisfyingly complex. You'll love it.

A great story interspersed with the Gert of now, who works hard at being invisible at a museum, with the Gert of her childhood. As a little girl she was frowned upon as an odd child and was relegated to sleep in the attic which she believed housed a ghost.I am surprised poor Gert made it through her childhood! What a funny story it was! A distant mother, an odd twin, Frank, who she can telepathise with and a father who spends his time building a boat, and then sails off, never to return!Life isn't easy for the adult Gert, but through friends in unlikely places she begins to come out of her shy self.

In this, her first novel, Julia Darling tells the story of Gert Hardcastle's pursuit of happiness. Gert is a lonely museum curator who has, as she always expected, managed to 'end up working in a quiet place, trying to be invisible. Afraid of everything'. Her early family life marked her out from the begining as one different from the others, a lost cause, but the arrival of the lovely Eva to work in the museum canteen promises to change all that. The two narratives intertwine with each other. The tragic story of Gert's formative years is hilariously told and will strike many satisfying chords with anyone who's ever felt 'a bit different', invisible or even 'the devil incarnate'. In the present, Gert's tentative pursuit of Eva is punctuated by letters from her estranged mother and weird telepathic messages from twin brother Frank. This book is very moving and terribly funny. The reader is never quite clear what is real and what is not, comedy and tragedy are so firmly entwined you don't even notice them strangling each other. Yes, everything about this book was brilliant - the humour, the narrative, the characters and even that rare thing - a satisfying plot structure.

A little quirky, a little odd... but loveable and readable and recommendable! Gert is somewhat of a social outcast, reclusive and shy, and her story just deserves to be read. You will read wanting to jump into the pages and help with her mother, her attempts at romance, and life in general. Different, but great.