Review: A Slow Fire Burning

Think of the best crime novel you’ve ever read, remember how you couldn’t put it down, remember the twists and turns and then forget all about it and pick up this book.

Somehow Paula Hawkins has managed to once again create the perfect balance of mystery, relationships and cliffhangers in her latest page-turner of a novel. I just couldn’t put it down.

Following a murder of a young man who lived on a houseboat, the plot is cleverly crafted around three women in his life. Through jumps in time, setting and characters, Hawkins lets the plot play out so that everything is revealed slowly yet still with not quite enough time for you to catch up to the ending.

Things just got personal. Why? I spent £120 here in my first term at Uni. This term, £35.

The ‘W’ word – Waterstones – is a haven for students. In York, it’s that grab-a-drink, buy-a-book, job-done sort of place. Problem? A bit pricy if you don’t have a stash of gift cards from Christmas. Nonetheless, it must be your enemy if you’re using it for term books - even if you get 10% off with UNiDays.

Above, I did say that you can only be a bookworm if you make those three mistakes, but you can’t afford to be one when you buy up to 18 texts a term. Some, where you only use 20 pages in a 500-page book (yes, I mean you Dante’s Inferno). Forget the spotless front covers and that new-book smell. First years especially, you need to think creased pages, random annotations, old books: second-hand is your money-saving saviour.

II. Hunt around, it’s out

Nothing says Christmas like irresistible bargains: Black Friday, Boxing

Day sales… My point is you’re not given a deal on a silver platter; nowadays, you’ve got to find one. That’s why, since term two, my principle has been the same as that applied to the clothes haul we’re all guilty of committing.

The keyword is comparison. That is why several tabs are open on my laptop (World of Books and AbeBooks being my favourite) when buying books for the term. Believe it or not, saving 20p on a book counts when buying lots of them, trust me. Hunting around online does save you money because, true story, it reduced my book spending from £45 to £37 – think of what that could get you.

III. Don’t forget, actual bookshops still exist

I thought I would add this last section when considering books read for pleasure, less so in term (though if you find a book on your reading list in one I commend you). Exploring the bookshops in York means seeking out local history and deals. One that encapsulates this is The Minster Gate Bookshop, as one review declares: ‘I

Emily Sinclair

Unlike some crime novels that use stock characters, Hawkins is brilliant at developing her characters and relationships so you end up feeling connected to everyone involved. Whether that be a strong hatred kind of connection or a sense of empathy, you can’t help but feel invested with the individual characters as well as the plot.

I would recommended this novel to anyone who likes the crime/ murder genre yet also likes some gritty emotions and backstories. It is a novel that you find yourself lost in and therefore a quick and easy read. It is the type of book that has something for everyone and therefore I would strongly recommend it as an enjoyable and relatively cheap Christmas present.

can find literally every book here, and they come with great price’.

I may have hit my head countless times on those beams, but it’s worth it for the bargains I’ve found in that cramped maze of a building.

The takeaway message: don’t let book prices eat away at your bank account, whether they’re for Uni or pleasure. At the end of the day, it’s not about the condition but the words.

Lizzy MacKay DEPUTY TRAVEL EDITOR Vacant

Gap Years, “Finding Yourself” and Elephant Harem Pants

Lizzy MacKay

For almost as long as gap years have existed, so have the gap year stereotypes. One stereotype in particular that has always stuck with me is the stereotype of “finding yourself”.

Over the years after I went travelling by myself on my year out, I’ve spoken to many people about this phenomenon, and why it exists in the first place.

First, a little about my gap year experience (for good measure): I took a gap year from July 2019 to September 2020. I began working in a restaurant in the summer, and started saving for my travels. I then flew to Australia in late December, and stayed with family friends until early January. After this, I moved to a hostel in central Sydney, and stayed there for a week and a half, going out clubbing every evening. A formative experience for my little 19 year-old self at the time! One night, a friend and I put on our washing, went down to the hostel bar for an hour while our clothes washed, then came back upstairs and put it in the dryer. Then went straight back to the bar.

After Sydney, I travelled up the East Coast for a month (the typical backpacker route), staying in hostels and partying along the way, as well as slowly learning how to surf. Eventually, I decided to move back to Sydney with my working holiday visa and look for a more permanent place to stay, and a job or two. However, it was on the bus journey from Brisbane to Sydney that I stopped in a tiny beach town called Yamba. The hostel was so small and was such a close-knit community that I was persuaded to stay and work there long-term instead of back in the big city.

In Yamba, I worked two jobs: one, as a hostel cleaner, for free accommodation, and the other as a waitress at a local tapas bar. So, for two months, I cleaned the hostel, served seafood tapas and learned how to surf. It became the perfect excuse to escape reality and live in a dream for a while. It let me realise that there is so much more to life than working, studying and people pleasing. Instead, I could surf, learn to cook for cheap, and spend lazy days off on the beach.

Eventually, I was driven home by Covid, but after three months of traversing around Australian beaches, drinking too much goon (if you know, you know!) and making lifelong friends from around the world.