Foolish Heroines by June Wentland

 

Foolish Heroines by June Wentland.

Published 31st October 2021 by Valley Press.

From the cover of the book:

Janina Reston is a language expert, translating fiendishly tricky Arabic and Asian mathematical and scientific texts. Words are her world. But she can’t find any to share with her husband Owen. Instead, she confides in a spider named Gladys (who may or may not be her deceased grandmother).

She lives in an ordinary city suburb where extraordinary things happen. Lily’s husband dies in a strange accident with a milk bottle, while Fatima writes biographies of unknown people living seemingly inconsequential lives, and Zosia – whose most daring adventure thus far has been replacing jelly and ice cream with lemon meringue pie – runs off to Delhi with an Asian Women’s Sewing Group.

Written with zest, zeal and humour, June Wentland’s debut novel is a surreal journey through the avenues and alleyways of everyday life. But forget dull domesticity. This is a suburb where dense jungle leaves creep through the patio door when you’re putting the kettle on, where porcelain shepherdesses have evil intent, and where a seven-legged arachnid can be a wise companion for a woman at the end of her tether.

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Strange things are about to happen in this quiet little suburb. It all starts with Janina, whose relationship with her husband has reached a state of such disconnect that she no longer thinks he's actually real. Between caring for her children and cats, worrying about her parents, and delving into tricky translation work, she has little time to ponder why this might be - and in any case, she is more than happy with her new confidante Gladys the seven-legged spider, who lives behind the toilet cistern, and appears to be possessed of the soul and wisdom of her late grandmother. Janina needs some new challenges and they are going to take her to interesting places in the company of an intriguing collection of people.

Nearby, other local women are on the cusp of new adventures too. There's Lily, whose husband has died after an unusual incident with a milk bottle, leading to some weird goings on in her dining room; Fatima whose writing about her ordinary neighbours seems to have unexpected consequences; Janina's mother Zosia off for adventures that do not include her gardening obsessed husband; a seaside palm reader who doesn't know what to make of what the tea-leaves are showing her; and a campaigning belly-dancer who appears to have lost her house in an ill-timed gale - and a few more rag-tag characters who pop in to join the fun.

All these women are linked by their need to make space for themselves in the world and pursue their own intellectual and creative freedom, and as their stories touch, they find a way to bolster and support each other in their endeavours.

It has to be said that this a story that is definitely on the weird and wonderful side. If you like your books to proceed logically with a well-defined plot then this is probably not going to be for you, but if you are up for a winding literary adventure, filled with whimsey, humour, colourful imagery, metaphor, glorious characters, and cats... lots of cats... then this warm and touching novel deserves a place on your reading pile.

There's rather a lot of the fairy-tale about this book, and Wentland uses this story device to explore some very deep themes about connection, love, attraction, equality and freedom, in a very similar way to Jeanette Winterson - and like her, there is a particular kind of humour and poignancy that drives the tale along, with a bizarre hint of Terry Pratchett in the mix that works beautifully. I very much enjoyed the quirkiness of the threads of each of the characters, as they go on their separate, but interlinked journeys, and come to rest in a better place at the end.

Take a ride on the wild side and immerse yourself in a yarn that will warm your heart, bring a tear to your eye, and give you a good old chuckle - and has an important message too.

Foolish Heroines is available to buy now in paperback and ebook from your favourite book retailer. 

If you buy Foolish Heroines direct from Valley Press before the end of January 2022 you can take advantage of their January Sale off of 22% off their titles by using the discount code JAN22 via the link HERE.

About the author:

June Wentland was born in Hull and currently lives in Corsham, Wiltshire.

June has an M.A. in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and has a day job being the Reader Development Officer for Bath and N.E Somerset Council Library Service.

Her fiction has been televised and published by BBC Television. She's also written freelance for Endemol U.K. and has been an occasional guest lecturer for the Creative Industries degree at Southampton Solent University.