A Net for Small Fishes: ‘The Thelma and Louise of the seventeenth century’ Lawrence Norfolk

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An important part of the action concerns a gay male romantic triangle, so the female narrator character is doubly distanced. Immersive and vivid, this draw me so far into the tumultuous world of the Jacobean England and its injustices, especially its ‘small fishes’, that my emotions swung between joy at the sheer beauty of the rich and. This is only Jago's second work of fiction and even though the plot is based on a true story she has written something very accomplished, in fact I think its been about twenty years since I have had to put down a book while reading and pick up the dictionary to check the meaning of a word, very impressive not many authors do that these days! Five very different lives, linked by a common thread, for all have experienced the true and extraordinary beauty of life, bursting through the veil of daily existence, only to disappear again before it can be fully grasped. Embarrassingly, I was not familiar with the Overbury Plot which occurred during the reign of James I and is the subject of this book.

Somewhere between the language, overdone metaphors and feminist retelling of an historical scandal, this book lost me. at times the novel is brutal in its commentary on misogyny and the treatment of women at this time, evoking a plethora of emotions that are sure to make any modern reader angry.The descriptions of court and daily life in London at the time, together with the costumes and finery are vivid. A marriage that gossip claimed never to have been consummated brought much ridicule to the Earl of Essex.

It is perhaps not so much a thriller as it is a retelling of a historical scandal and following trial and so the outcome is never in doubt. With the marriage of their talents, Anne and Frankie enter this extravagant, savage hunting ground, seeking a little happiness for themselves. From the communal highs of pitched night battles against the police in Cairo to the solitary lows of defeated exile in New York, Omar Robert Hamilton’s debut is a unique immersion into one of the key chapters of the 21st century. The book’s title refers to justice, which catches small fry while letting larger fish escape punishment.The trial is steeped in accusations, coercion, talk of witchcraft, magic, and the plotting of powerful families to destroy each other.