Two Women - Martina Cole

Having been so impressed by my first Martina Cole experience it’s hardly surprising that I’ve picked up another book by the same author so soon. It looks as if Martina Cole’s central theme is “strong” East End women, who demonstrate unconditional love for their children and are expert at overcoming adversity. Two Women is written in the same vein. Susan is a plain ordinary girl, child of an alcoholic, violent father and an abusive, distant, promiscuous mother. This book IS Susan’s story from her violent, abusive, adolescent childhood through to her journey into the adult world. Cole has a talent for drawing the reader in and making them ...

INTRODUCTION I have phases of reading. I always have at least one book on the go, but sometimes reading gets pushed to the back of the queue. First it was the Olympics, then a rather dull Pratchett book that prioritised other things over reading. However, this week, the situation has been reversed. I have been going to bed early to read, neglecting Ciao and ignoring emails. Why? I have been reading another Martina Cole novel. This one was Two Women and – like with all her books I have read – it is so easy to get hooked! Cole’s books often follow familiar themes – gangland murders, prostitution, abused women, horrific violence – and some ...

~~ The author~~ Martina Cole is never one to skirt around the difficult issues in society, and as such has gained herself a reputation as the “queen of grit” when it comes down to writing books. She deals with prostitution, pimping, violence, abuse, incest, death and poverty, yet the one common link between all her novels is the presence of strong female characters. She deals with women who go through all kinds of adversity, yet manage to cope with it and come out the other side stronger as a result. She creates remarkable female characters, whilst generally making men out to be the weak inferior ones who fail in the end. I appreciate that this ...