A Storm In The Blood by Jon Stephen Fink

A Storm In The Blood by Jon Stephen Fink
Buy A Storm In The Blood by Jon Stephen Fink at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Louise Laurie
Summary: A Storm In The Blood is based on a true story involving the police force and the government of the day trying to suppress racial tensions in early 20th century London. It has resonance for our modern times as we grapple with similar situations and problems.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 407	Date: January 2011
Publisher: Cutting Edge Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0956544513
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A Storm In The Blood is based on a true story involving the police force and the government of the day trying to suppress racial tensions in early 20th century London. It has resonance for our modern times as we grapple with similar situations and problems.

Before we reach the main location, we first meet one of the central characters, Rivka in Russia. And this period in history is full of unrest and talk of bloody uprising, sieges and the like. An innocent occurrence sees Rivka having to take an monumental decision: to leave her family and to leave Russia - for London. She is a persecuted Jew, has no money, no clothes and doesn't speak a word of English. Fink does a good job of describing the poverty and also the stench of the Whitechapel area. You get the sense that Rivka is like an innocent and delicate flower in amongst this heaving mass of humanity. And in a way, she is exactly that. But she's spirited enough to get herself a job (with the help of the local Jewish community) pay the rent and try to keep her nose clean.

We take a bit of a detour via France to meet up with the other central character, Peter. He's got issues and attitude aplenty. He lives on his wits on a daily basis and its draining. Because he is an artist, the reader is given almost a lecture tour of many of the great, French artists. For me, it slowed up the story and I felt that there was way too much going on. We also go back in time to Peter's past in great detail. Too much detail, in my opinion.

So, we're presented with the Russian political and economic situation as well as a good chunk of the French perspective. For a fictional story, perhaps a bit too exhausting for some readers. Lots of data which, in my opinion, tended to lie heavy on the page. But then again, if you enjoy a complex, multi-layered, three-books-in-one story, then you'll probably like this book.

Fink shows us the drudgery of Rivka's life in England. Okay, she's not looking over shoulder every five minutes for the Russian police but as a bright young woman, she knows she's merely existing and not living. Can she turn her fortunes around at all? We see that in this part of London (Whitechapel) many immigrants are struggling to make a better life for themselves. And we also see tensions rise. Things start to get ugly and that's putting it mildly.

Fink saves quite a hefty chunk of his book on revolutionaries, the disaffected and the like. And while on the whole it's a good enough yarn, it just lacked sparkle for me. When I read the blurb on the back cover I thought I was in for a decent read but sadly, it didn't live up to its promise and I felt a little disappointed.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

For an excellent read about London, check out The Worms Of Euston Square by William Sutton, which features in our Top Ten Books About London.

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