Tag: Don’t Get Involved

A Few Quick Questions With…F J Curlew

I appreciate Curlew taking the time to do this Q&A, I hope you enjoy it and she says something to tempt you to give her work a try. I didn’t ask her everything I wanted to, because it would’ve spoiled things for the rest of you (and, frankly, I need the mystery).

Tell us about your road to publication — was your plan/dream always to become a novelist and your education/other jobs were just to get you to this point, or was this a later-in-life desire?
                     I would love to be able to say that I had always dreamed of being a writer, but no. I was a primary school teacher who had barely enough energy to read at the end of the day, let alone write! I got sick, could no longer work, but was determined not to allow that to take over my life. I decided to study creative writing at the Open University, predominantly to keep my brain active. I found out that I was quite good at it and completed the standard and advanced courses with distinctions. I haven’t stopped since. Not only has writing given me a purpose, I also absolutely love it. Whatever else is going on in my life my stories can take me away to places of my imagination. How fantastic is that? I can’t not write!
I don’t want to ask “where do you get your ideas?” But out of all the ideas floating around in your head, why’d you latch onto this one — what was it about these characters, this idea that drove you to commit months/years to it?
                     I lived in Ukraine for four years and was left with so many stories, feelings, experiences. To say the country touched me would be an understatement. I used what I had seen and heard to write some short stories for my OU coursework.They were well received and I knew there was more to come. A novel was scratching away at me. In Kyiv I had met, and spent time with, quite a few street-kids. Two of them have haunted me ever since – the two who would become Sasha and Alyona in the story. Their lives were…awful, and yet they had this innocence and grace to them. I placed them in a feasable scenario around which I could write a thriller and sprinkled them with a little bit of magic because I felt they deserved it. I hope my story has done them justice.
The Holodomor provides a lot of background to one of the stories here. As I told you before, this is the second book I’ve read this year influenced by that. You have a character say why we don’t know much about it in the West – could you tell us a little more about our lack of awareness about it, and why it captured your attention?
                     The Holodomor was something that Stalin wouldn’t show to the West, or own up to. It didn’t happen. It was all lies. And that carried on through the subsequent Soviet years. Anti-soviet propoganda would result in a stint in the gulags or death. Best to keep quiet. Despite having lived there I hadn’t heard of it myself. It wasn’t until I was researching more about the lives of Ukrainian street-kids on You-tube that I came across the Holodomor. I was horrified. My social conscience is strong and I am politically motivated. Of course I had to use it! It wasn’t until 2006 that the Ukrainian parliament recognised the Holodomor as a deliberate act of genocide. There is now a Holodomor monument in Kyiv.
What kinds of research went into the construction of this concept and the world? What was the thing you came across in your research that you loved, but just couldn’t figure out how to use? (assuming there was one)
                     A good deal of the events are actually based on things that I had first hand experience of, or stories I had been told. Of course there was also a hefty amount of research done. I read accounts of the Holodomor, Misha Glenny’s non-fiction book “McMafia” helped greatly with facts about the Mafia, and I spent hours trolling through videos and news clips about all things Ukrainian. I read Shevchenko and listened to Yarmak (Ukrainian rap) to get me in Ukrainian mode. There actually wasn’t anything I came across and loved that I couldn’t use, except perhaps a horse-riding, sword-yielding Cossack!
(yeah, that’d have been hard to fit in)

Who are some of your major influences? (whether or not you think those influences can be seen in your work — you know they’re there)

                     Andrei Makine, Leif Davidsen, Sofi Oksanen. Of course there are many others, but for Eastern European stories, definitely them!
One of the things I appreciated most about the cast of characters was Maggie. Most books like this would have Nadia befriend a fun-loving local woman, instead, you provide her an Austrialian friend. Can you tell us anything about that choice (or anything else you want ot say about Maggie)?
                     Ah, Maggie! I hadn’t factored her into the story at all to begin with. Planning isn’t something I do very much of as I prefer my stories to unfold as I write; my characters to lead the way. Maggie popped up and said, “Hey! Over here! Write me!” She was a lot of fun to work with. A wise woman who lives life to the fullest and offers her own unique perspective on everything from men to politics. I think it was important for Nadia to be able to have that in this story. A friend, a confidante, an opposite. Someone to guide her strength to the surface. The expat in her becomes a core element of the story. A local wouldn’t have had the same impact.
What’s next for F. J. Curlew?
                     I seem to be working my way through the countries I have lived in! I am currently writing a novel involving Estonia’s journey from Independence to Soviet occupation and back to independence again. It’s quite a challenge because Estonia is important to me. I lived there for seven years and I love the wee place. I want, no need, to do it justice. Suffice to say hefty amounts of research are being done. My central characters are an old lady and a young drug addict. That’s all I can say for now!
Thanks for your time—and thanks for Don’t Get Involved, I enjoyed it, and hope you have plenty of success with it.


My thanks to F J Curlew for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) provided for it.

Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew: Hardship and Joy in Kyiv


Don't Get Involved

Don’t Get Involved

by F J Curlew

Kindle Edition, 255 pg.
2019

Read: October 7-9, 2019

…Are you okay?’

‘I will be. The first layer of gauze has been wrapped around the pain.’

‘Gauze?’

‘Grandpa said that grief was like a wound. Time was like a dressing. A piece of gauze. At first the blood, the pain, flows through. Then, as the dressing gets thicker and stronger the flow stems, until it can no longer be seen. Sometimes a scab breaks. The blood seeps through again with a memory, but the dressing holds. With time.’

This book Kyiv, Ukraine in 2001, a time of unrest and change. The author lived there for awhile in 2001, and found her inspiration from that experience for this book. That gives it a level of authority, confidence, and authenticity than would probably have been present otherwise.

There are two stories that run throughout this book—there’s a little bit of overlap here and there, but primarily, they’re independent. The first of these focuses on three street kids (beggars) who come into possession of a very large amount of a controlled substance. This is easily one of the biggest things to happen in their young lives and will have a significant voice about whether they escape this life they’re in or find themselves in something worse.

The other storyline focuses on a Scottish teacher, Nadia, who has just arrived to help meet the large educational meet they have. The tone and overall feel of this storyline is so different than the other that you may find yourself wondering why they’re in the same novel—but given a little patience, you’ll see why. Nadia is befriended by an Australian teacher in Kyiv for the same reason and she meets and is pursued a young Ukrainian man with plenty of charm.

It’s not easy to see where this gives you a Crime Novel, but there is one here—just not the kind anyone’s used to. I’m not sure I’d have given it that label, probably opting for “General Fiction” instead, but that’s the way it’s being marketed, and I can see it. There’s also a flash of magical realism or fantasy (I could make the case for either label) but there’s a foundation laid for it so that when the flash comes, it’s easy to accept. This is typically the kind of thing that annoys me in Crime Fiction, but Curlew prepares for it well—and it’s such a nice way for things to go, that I enjoyed it.

Back in February, I blogged about Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn. It’s a fantasy novel and nothing like this book at all. But much of it was inspired by the Holodomor—a genocide that took place in Ukraine in the 1930’s. Part of Don’t Get Involved‘s narrative is shaped by and reacts to the Holodomor. I never would have predicted that I’d read one book exposing me to this horrific time this year, much less, two widely divergent works. I’d be glad for this book for this reason alone.

None of these characters have easy lives—even those that chose to be in Kyiv. But there are moments of lightness and joy for all of them, as well as darker realities. It’s a good reminder that there is joy to be found in all kinds of circumstances if you will look for them. One of the kids, in particular, is gifted at this.

There is one sex scene that is longer and far more detailed than is necessary, but otherwise, Curlew will let that happen behind closed doors. There are suggestions and hints about child prostitution, but nothing explicit—this is not done for exploitation, but to show the harsh conditions and the extreme actions these kids have to take to survive.

I will admit that I spent a lot of time early on wondering why I was reading this novel, while I liked the characters and was curious about their lives, I just didn’t get the book. But it grew on me slowly and without me really noticing. Ultimately, I found it to be pretty effective and affecting and I was wholly invested in it. I’m not entirely certain I liked the way the storylines resolved, but that’s just taste—and I’m pretty sure I would’ve complained if she’d gone that way.

I ended up enjoying this novel a lot more—and in more ways—than I expected to early on. The setting, characters and story are just different enough from what I usually get that I think it’ll stick with me longer than some novels, too. I do recommend this to readers of all types for a change of pace and an exposure to things you won’t easily find elsewhere.


3.5 Stars


My thanks to F J Curlew for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) provided for it.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew

Today I welcome the Book Tour for the XXX Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit, and then I’ll be posting a Q&A with the author. But before I get to talking about Don’t Get Involved, let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay? Be sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post for details on the Giveaway!


Book Details:

Book Title: Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew
Release date: October 6, 2019
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 255 pages

Book Blurb:

A missing shipment of cocaine
Three street-kids fighting for their lives
A Mafia hitman intent on killing them
A naïve expat who gets in their way
Who would you bet on?

Ukraine, 2001. A time of lawlessness and corruption. Three street-kids stumble upon a holdall full of cocaine, belonging to the Mafia. Mafia hitman, Leonid, is given the job of retrieving the cocaine and disposing of the street-kids. To do so he is forced to step back into his old life and he doesn’t like it. The children run on their wits. Leonid hunts them down. Nadia, a young woman with her own dark past, arrives in Ukraine looking for a fresh start. She wasn’t expecting this!

“She had no idea of what, or who, she was supposed to be running from. Right now everything was a threat. Definitely militsiya, but who else? Everyone. Right now it felt like everyone.”

About F J Curlew:

F J CurlewFiona spent fifteen years working as an international school teacher, predominantly in Eastern Europe. Much of her inspiration comes from her travels. Her writing has been described as, “Human experience impacted upon by political situation, interwoven with a love of nature.”

She now lives on the East Coast of Scotland with Brockie the Springer, and Fingal the rescued Portuguese street-cat. Her days are divided between dog-walking in beautiful places and working on her stories. Not a bad life!

Don’t Get Involved is her third book.

Links:

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Website

F J Curlew’s Books:

Don’t Get Involved ~ Dan Knew (a fictionalised account of her travels told through the eyes of Dani, her Ukrainian rescue dog) ~ To Retribution (a love story set in times of turmoil)



My thanks to F J Curlew for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) provided for it.

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