Clare Fisher

I've had All the Good Things on my TBR for far too long and I only picked it up by chance when I was looking for a book thin enough to fit in my bag for a long train journey. I expected to read a handful of chapters then gaze out of the train window at the scenery whizzing by, but as soon as I picked up this book I was lost. It's just as well the train terminated at my destination or I would have ended up somewhere completely unexpected as I turned the final page of this book.

The whole premise is breathtakingly simple as Beth, an inmate in a prison, lists all of the good things that have happened to her in her life. Now, this might seem like an easy task to you or me, but to someone like Beth with her tragic life she has to dig a bit deeper to list her good things. Always hovering in the background, as we read Beth's story, is the bad thing she has done. It's not difficult to guess what it is, but as I got to know Beth, I hoped with all my heart that I was wrong.

Clare Fisher is a magnificent storyteller, creating a terribly flawed but completely believable character in Beth who I very easily began to care about. I felt so emotionally involved in the ups and downs of Beth's story that I dreaded getting to the part that landed her in prison. As if she could read my mind, Clare Fisher sprinkled a glimmer of hope and forgiveness into the story to help me cope with this awful but inevitable revelation.

I am completely flabbergasted that this is a debut novel; the writing is so polished and accomplished and Clare Fisher manages to make you feel everything that the main character of Beth is feeling. It surprised me how emotional I found this book, although I didn't cry I felt as if I was experiencing all of Beth's emotions with her. The characterisation is so multidimensional that Beth jumps from the page and she stayed with me long after I turned the final page. All the Good Things is a completely stunning and entirely flawless debut.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (meer)

Although this book is a little 'romantic' - which normally turns me off - I did find a real engagement with the main issues of this story: Why do people end up committing crimes? are they 'bad' people or just people who have found themselves in bad situations? can criminals change? should we seek to forgive those who have committed crimes? if you have committed a crime (or indeed done anything 'bad') how do you come to terms with yourself? These issues have been going around in my mind a lot lately, so I was receptive to reading about them. My main negative response is that I think this story tends to paint an overly romantic view of almost all people. Even hardened prisoners are presented as having a soft, caring side. I suspect most people one would encounter in the prison system (both staff and inmates) are a lot tougher than the ones presented here. I was prepared to overlook this, however, as it's the internal thought process and emotions within the main character, Beth, that interested me most. For a random pick from the library shelves, this turned out pretty well.… (meer)

Disclaimer: Penguin Books gave me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Clare Fisher’s debut novel All the Good Things tells the story of main character and narrator Bethany Mitchell’s progression through therapy during her first few months in prison.

Beth was a young woman fresh out of the foster system and determined to start a new life for herself. She had a new job, a new best friend, a new lover, and happily but unexpectedly, a new child. But that was all before the Bad Thing. The thing that landed her in prison and convinced her she’s a ‘100% bad person’. The thing she keeps trying to run from.

[I’m tired of the word ‘thing’ already, but it’s going to be used a lot in this review. So the thing is…]

I enjoyed this book. It’s told in the format of a journal Beth addresses to her infant daughter whose childhood she will now never be able to witness. The heading of each chapter is an item from the list of ‘good things’ that Beth’s therapist Erika has asked her to write.

Because of its epistolary format, the novel is narrated in the first person, and Beth has a strong voice. She uses lots of slang and her tone alternates between contemplative and guarded. This took some getting used to, particularly when she used words or phrases that I disagree with, like “writing a list of good things may seem pretty retarded” on page 1. [To be clear, Fisher is not endorsing her character’s language; Beth learns to be more respectful and changes her tune over time.] But as I became familiar with Beth’s personality and communication style, I learned to like that narrative element.

My one criticism of the novel is that the prose has a tendency to turn heavy-handed from time to time. Sometimes I felt like I was being hit over the head with the moral of the story. Some examples:

“I think it’s a good thing to find hope where any other person would agree there is none.”
“It’s the things you don’t want to talk about that you really should.”
“Love never makes things easy. What it makes them is shiny and if you’re not careful, they shine so bright, you stop seeing the thing beneath the shine.”
“Because the story wasn’t about whether you get what you want or you don’t. It was about caring for people even though they’re not perfect. It was about daring to dream even when you’re in a place where dreams aren’t meant to reach — especially in those places.”
Part of me wants to believe that the moralizing is just an element of Beth’s voice and an important part of the first person narrative. But it still bothered me.

That quibble aside, I think the novel’s portrayal of therapy is well-done, and I appreciate that it addresses stigmas associated with mental illness and poverty. I also thought the pacing was excellent, especially near the end of the novel as we race with Beth toward the revelation of what she did to end up in prison and how she might come to terms with it. Reader and narrator alike must decide, as the official synopsis asks, ‘does anyone – even a 100% bad person – deserve a chance to be good?’ (3/5)… (meer)