Jennysreading blog

The Shelley beach writers group by June Loves

2012-01-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

Chick lit for ( seniors) 50 year olds. Careers, divorce, grandparenting and hot romance, what more could you want when lieing on your holiday bed ( We over 50s need our afternoon nap). Good enough to send you off to sleep with a smile on your face and absolutely no thinking what so ever... ( although I did get a little bit concerned when our protagaonist Gina had to take control of yet another committee - the sea change stuff seemed more high powered than any corporate job....

The Comfort of Water a river pilgrimage by Maya Ward

2012-01-09T01:40:00.000-08:00

People who have obsessive passions are enviable ( and sometimes a little exhausting). Maya 's walk with her 3 friends from the mouth of the Yarra to its source seems wonderful. Her lifelong pledge to the environment, to music, to walking, to spirituality, to her friends and family is both inspiring and irritating. ( Everyone seems so good natured, willing to share, support and nurture you wonder how on earth Melbourne got to be such a hot bed of crime). Even though occasionally Maya seems to be floating along on nothing more than the tree fairies you still can't help admiring her committment to her pilgrimmage and her committment to living a certain type of life.

I enjoyed this read as I lay there with my electric blanket on high and every light blaring, wondering how much electricity I can consume without blowing a fuse.

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

2012-01-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

Continuing the Secret River saga, the Thornhill family cannot escape the evil sins of their past. When the youngest of the Thornhill children, Sarah falls in love with a young man with an Aboriginal mother, all hell breaks lose. Sarah learns that her family's settlment of the river country was a murdererous tragedy for the local people. Sarah eventually marries another pioneering settler and finds a form of happiness away from the river and her beloved Jack,but her past continues to haunt her and eventually she is forced to confront her family secrets. This story was as enthralling Secret River . You quickly learn that the new generation is being stalked by the sins of its parents.The class distinction between emancipated, free settlers and local natives; Sarah's unwillingness to learn to read and write; her love of the countryside and her guilt about the treatment of the locals gives a poignant insight in to the complexity of the lives of the early settlers. There is the added issue of the stolen generation, when Sarah's dead brother's child is removed from her Maori family, to be brought up by her white grand parents, with tragic consequences. Basically this story has everything I think a good historical yarn should be, a compelling story which gives us a thoughtful pathway into into the quagmires of our history.

All that I am by Anna Funder

2011-12-01T02:02:00.000-08:00

As much as this story was interesting and reveals aspects of the build up to World War 2 in England and Germany that I didn't know about, I struggled to finish this book. Maybe it was all the other books on the beside table that were threatening to tumble on me in the middle of the night if I didn't start reading them soon, or maybe it was the jumping between characters and time periods. I was never very sure where I was ( Australia, New York, Germany, England) or when it was pre war England, postwar New York or late 20thCentury Sydney . The book, although fiction, was based on true characters and events ( do we call this faction). We learn about what happened to people who protested about Hitlers terrifying control over prewar Germany through the chartacters of Ruth and Toller . Ruth is remembering her past in modern Sydney as she slowly declines into a morphine fed memory haze. Toller is speaking from post war New York where he is rewriting his memoirs to include Dora Fabian. Dora was both his lover and a beautiful activist who worked hard to alert the pre war Germans and the British people to the evils of the Hitler regime. It was horrifying to read how these exiled German Jew were treated by the British pre war. They were never really safe from Hitler,s henchmen. It was a moving story and I am glad to have finished it before I race off to the fantasy thriller recommended to me by one of my young students. Maybe the thrills in this book were just a little too frighteningly true to enjoy.

The midnight zoo by Sonya Hartnett

2011-12-01T01:49:00.001-08:00

This is a typically different Sonya Hartnett fable. The children are thrown into dire circumstances ( This time a terrible war where they are seperated from their family). They are forced to call upon very different personal resources to survive. The oldest brother Andrej walks with younger brother Tomas and baby sister Wilma scrambling for food and looking for a safe haven away from the bombing, the refugees and the terrible soldiers. When they stumble upon a small zoo they again fear for their safety until they realise the animals are far worse off then they are and maybe they can help each other.

Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

2011-12-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

At 16, Sibeal is ready to committ herself to the spiritual life of a druid. Her teacher Ciaran believes she needs a complete change before taking her final vowels. She ends up on the Inis Eala community with her two sisters for the Summer, where things quickly change from peaceful holiday to nightmare shipwreck monsters and romance. Another great story in the Seven waters series. Great to see the girls saving the day, fearless warriors on this meideveal Island cannot really win anything with out the wise ways of their women folk. Their healing powers, nurturing skills and commonsense to and insight seem to be the key to solving most problems. sisters forever

Purple Threads by Jeanine Leane

2011-12-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

Purple Threads recreates snippets of a young Aboriginal girl growing up around Gundagai in the sixties. Living with her aunts and her nan and her little sister on a small farm in a run down house, the Aunties provided a loving and caring home for Sunny and her sister Star. Nan and the Aunties were always on the look out for the authorities who might take away the little girls. The girls quickly learnt how to behave and look when out in public. It wasn't until Sunny goes to school that she realizes that others might look down upon her family. Their home existence seemed idyllic, the adults very kind and caring for all creatures from the discarded black lambs to the abused young mother next door.Their home grown philosophies about men and marriage and the Christian church were amusing and very intuitive.The Whities come across as pompous and holier than thou. If this sounds like stereotypical caricatures then you are right, but unfortunately I think from the little girls perspectives most of the white people they knew were very judgemental, uptight and terrifying. As an adult reading the stories through the eyes of the child, you realise like the Aunties that a loving caring home can come in all shapes, sizes and levels of dilapidation.

Hunger games by Suzanne Collins

2011-10-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I had so many people tell me I should read this book, I thought I had better buy it for my library. Stephanie Meyers recommendations on the front didn't do a lot for me seeing I thought the first Twilght book was one of the most boring I had ever read. Nevertheless I plunged in ever hopeful the heroine Katniss wouldn't turn out to be a wimp who waited for a bloke to come along and save her. And I wasn't disappointed. Katniss emerges as one tough cookie ( with a nice chewie centre etc). She volunteers to enter the hunger games ( a kind of olympics for teenagers except everyone has to fight to the death with the last one standing the winner) to save her sister. She uses her brains and her skills as a hunter to survive, but isn't adverse to turning on the charm if she thinks its going to help her reach her goal. The question of course is how far is she willing to go to survive and can she outwit the other contestants and the all seeing , all powerful judges to maintain some semblance of humanity. It s a good yarn. Yes I am even tempted to run off and purchase the next one in the series even if I don't read it I know my library patrons will demand to find out what happens next...

Teach us to sit still a sceptics search for health and healing by Tim Parks, 2010

2011-10-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tim Parks attempts to cure himself of the bladder pain that has afflicted him for years, After endless tests , medical appointments, and google searches he finally stumbles across a book which describes all his symtoms and uses alternative therapies to cure it. Desperate and doubtful he starts a new path to health enlightenment. Parks takes nothing too seriously, but he is willing to acknowledge that pershaps his lifestyle, occupation, personality and even his relationship with his dead father were contributing to his illness. We the reader are kept very amused by his attempts to deconstruct his problems. Tim's gradual return to health makes you realise that you need to be open to all options when considering health issues. Too often the medical profession takes a very narrow view of illness and we are quick to follow their advise often to no benefit. Tims willingness to explore all options with a severe cyncial filter mkes for some very interesting ( even inspiring) reading

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2011-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

This must be a good book. I sat up half the night trying to get it finished and am feeling like I wish I had a maid to get me going today. The book was easy to read and nothing surprising. Your heart went out to the black women struggling to raise and feed their own faimlies, while also slaving for white families for a pittance. The women were often treated very badly both by their white family employers and the white community generally. Even when the white folk thought they were doing good it seemed appalling. People were too frightened to speak out because alot depended on maintaining the status quo for the white residents of Jackson. As Minny ,Aibleen and White girl Skeeter tell their stories about working for and employing the local Black Help you can't help being sucked into the emotional heart ache of it all. I wanted those cold white bitches to get their just deserts and the warm black women to win victory and some how move away from that hell hole. History says that was much easier said than done. Conditions haven't improved that much and you have no doubt many black women continue to suffer.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

2011-10-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yes I am continuing with my Ann Patchett binge. Bel Canto was the winner of the 2002 Orange prize for Fiction and was as easily as gripping and unusual as "State of Wonders" A group of high powered people from many different countries and occupations are gathered at a birthday party in some unknown country in South America where they are taken hostage by another group of equally diverse but very inexperienced terrorists. The hostages include a famous opera diva Roxanne and many of her fans. We soon realise that this is not going to be a gruesome blood bath ( despite the inexperience of the terrorists) but some sort of syndrome where the groups of people thrown together in trapped circumstances gradually learn to like and even love each other. Music is the catalyst for love and change and people begin to see there futures differently. Love is portrayed in so many different forms. You get giddy from so much pounding of the heart. Its a beautiful story but no matter how hard you wish you know it is going to be very difficult to get a happy ending..... The world does just not work like that. Messner the redcross negotiator warns us on more then one occasion that there are never any winners in situations such as this.

State of wonder by Anne Patchett

2011-10-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

I am dumb founded that I found a book I enjoyed so much, by an apparent "best selling" author I had never heard of until a couple of weeks ago. I read the review for her latest book "State of wonder" and liked the sound of the futuristic scenarios about women's fertility ( I also love the Hand maids tale by Margaret Attwood from years ago). So I sneeked off to my favourite cheap online book website and bought it ( along with Bel Canto a book Patchett won the Orange prize for in 2002). From the first page this book had to be practically torn from my hands. Pharmeceutical researcher Marina Singh is sent into the Amazon jungle to find out what happened to her dead colleague Anders, who has apparently died there. Not only is Marina totally unprepared for the physical hardships of heat, strange insects and impoverished living conditions, she was totally unprepared that she would have to face many of her own demons and ethical dilemmas to survive . The book touchs on many issues from exploiting vulnerable people for the benfits of a corporate multinational giant to the idea of sacrificing a few to save many. It also questions the money that is poured into fertitlity progams in the western world when there are so many diseases still prevalent in the poorer countries that are wiping out huge populations. If is all sounds a little high handed and moralist, don't worry the story was utterly rivetting from beginning to end . ( I suppose anything seems believable in such a strange environment) I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am amazed that it took me this long to find such an interesting and good story teller ( yes I have stared reading Bel Canto already)

Black painted fingernails by Steven Herrick

2011-09-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

As much as I usually say I love Steven Herrick's books, I think it is actually his poetry stories that I really love. This book about a young guy ( James to his mum, Jim to his dad) leaving home for a few weeks, and picking up a hitch hiking girl ( well she really picked him up) seemed fairly contrived. However the mother's perspective on the young man leaving home was a little too close to the bone for comfort and I found myself being moved to tears on the odd accasion. Basically it was a coming of age drama/romance ( The girl Sophie had a few family issues to deal with) but it all seemed a little too easy. It won't go down as one of my favoutie Herrick books.

Dead point by Peter Temple

2011-09-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

I listened to half this book on a trip to Wagga. Driving round and round the block for 3 cds when I got home did not seem a practical option, so I borrowed the hard copy from the town library to finish it. Yes I did enjoy it, but I think it was more for its Inner City West Melbourne centricity and a cycnical middle aged solicitor ( Jack Irish) solving peoples seedy problems , rather than the dead bodies popping up everywhere in familar sounding streets. To tell the truth I had an awful lot of trouble following the two story lines and their various characters. It was the hanging out in coffee shops in Kensington, watching the trains go by, or the convincing your ex Fitzroy barracking mates that they now had to go for Saint kilda that I really loved. I never thought I would say it but I think it was the footy talk that actually made me really like this book....

The amateur science of love by Craig Sherborne

2011-09-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

A very young an immature Collin falls head over heals in lust with an older woman, Tilda, while on his first overseas trip escaping the mundane life of home and what he was going to do with his life. Meeting Tilda suddenly changes all that and Collin finds himself caught up in a life path that is totally unexpected. Collin comes accross as quite a self centred creature , but you are lured into sympathy for him as the story unfolds and you realise he has kind of lost all control over his destiny ( or atleast that is what he chooses to believe). We are torn between the horror of Collin being decent and making some adult decision when he realises that he is not in a place that he wants to be and the sympathy you feel for the Collin who wants to support Tilda no matter what life throws at them. This is actually quite a funny book ( inspite of bordering on being a "cancer" story). I got caught up wondering how Collin was going to extricate himself from a relationship and town he had no desire to be part of. The fact that Collins resorts to some quite demeaning tactics makes him seem even more human . Most of the time you feel like conking him on the head ( like most of the people in the little country town he ends up in) and telling him to do the decent thing for a change .. You have to read the book to decide what the decent thing to do really is.....

Between the Leaves;stories of Australian women writing and Gardens by Katie Holmes 2011

2011-09-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

Is it a sign of how much you enjoy abook, if you find yourself wanting to talk to people about it on more than one occasion? Although this book had a simple premise, I found it fascinating and could not seem to stop talking about it. Katie Holmes, an historian with an interest in womens history, gardening and letters, has combined all three to create a lovely book about women and their gardens and the importance they played in their lives through various stages of Australian history. The letters not only give a budding insight into the personal lives of these particular women , but also a fantastic window into the social mores of the time about how women experienced marrige, relationships, work and politics. The story of Mildred Hood wanting to create a successful vegetable garden so she could sell her produce , get an education and escape the drudgery of her home life, was heart wringing. Jean Galbraith's relations with with her much older mentor left you wondering about the nature of love. Katherine Susannah Prichards letters to her son Ric describing the development of the garden as a memorial to her husband after he committed suicide, was truly moving. Judith Wrights wildflowering with her friend Kathleen and the way their gardens drove them into environmental activitsm, was inspirational. Poor Wendy O'Dowds use of the garden as some type of social guage of the success of in her marriage was scarey and sad. Yes once again a book about gardening has driven me off the bed and out into the yard in the hope that some of these women's stories will rub off on my very non green fingers. No doubt the proof will be in the garden beds...

Struggle for Freedom by Aung San Suu Kyi : a biography by Jesper Bengtsson

2011-09-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy to read biography, written in a journalistic style. It gives a simple account of Suu Kyi's campaign for democracy in Burma. We learn why she became involved and the power her family heritage has given her with the general population of Burma. We can see the extreme difficulties of living under a military regime who recongise that killing her would lead to world wide repercusions that they could not control, but who are not willing to allow outside pressure to change their view on how the country should be run. The struggle of guerrila groups and the power of drug lords to gain strong holds in the country; the support of her husband and children from outside the country, all make for an interesting if not totally gripping read. It is a good introduction if you are at all interested in what is happening in that highly secluded and mysterious country.

Sarahs Key by Tatian De Rosnay

2011-09-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

You can see why this book has been made into a movie. There is devastating drama based on children caught up in the holocaust. There are family and national secrets people are refusing to acknowledge let alone take responsibility for. There is resolution and almost a happy ending. People go through the most devestating life changing horrific events and it kind of works out in the end. This is the part I found hard to believe. I was totally caught up in the story of the Jewish Sarah and her parents being rounded up by the French police in July 1942 in Paris in what was called Vel'd'Hiv round up. Sarah's obsession with finding the little brother they left behind was gripping drama. The modern story of Julia and her family moving into the same apartment 60 years later was also interesting mainly because it highlighted the way Parisians had contrived to block out the dark events in their city's past. The journalist Julia's obsession with finding out the truth intermingled with her own family dramas also kept me awake at night not wanting to put the book down. I wanted everything to be resolved and I was caught up in the hope of it being done, but there was a vague disappoinment at the end. The people finding consolation in each other for things that happened in the past didn't ring true. The book developed into movie fodder where the Hollywood dollar signs of a happy ending no matter how far fetched trivialised the story. Still I couldn't put it down for a couple of days and it made me think about events that happened in the world that should never be forgotten.

Smut by Alan Bennett

2011-08-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist buying this book after giggling my way all through "The uncommon reader". Alan Bennett has away of taking very simple human activities and turning them into a funny romp that you you could easily imagine happening. Smut has two stories about ordinary people and their everyday run of the mill lives where something unexpected happens and suddenly their orindariness becomes thrilling in a very funny way. The first story focuses on the grieving ( and slightly relieved) Mrs Donaldson who has decided to rent her spare room to some students who consequently suggest she could get some paid employment by working in the patient role plays at the local teaching hospital. When the students run short of money and suggest she take the rent in sexual favours all kind of hilarious scenarios play out. Taking your work home takes on a whole new and very funny meaning.

The second story involves the family of a very handsome ( and self obsessed son ) who suddenly decides to marry an apparently very ordinary looking girl ( much to everyone's surprise ) because they thought he was "not the marrying kind".The family secrets become murkier and funnier and you wonder if anyone really tell anyone about their true selves. They all think they are hiding a dark side and go to extraodrinarly lengths to ensure the secrets are kept safe in their box. The new daughter in law can of course see through everyones charade but still manages to save every "face".Also very funny and quite enlightening about the silly side of human nature

City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris, 2010

2011-08-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

I listened to Zoe Ferraris's first book in this series The night of the Miraj ( on yet another trip to Sydney) and absolutely loved it, so I looked forward to reading about Katya - the forensic lab technician and Nayir her tentative love interest and Saudi desert specialist, solve another crime. The protocols of religion and sex taboos in Jeddah the most liberal city in the extremely Islamically conservative country of Saudi Arabia, make any sort of criminal investigation extremely difficult , particularly if your are a woman. The burqa creates both problems and opportunities for Katya as she strives to impress her new boss and police partner Osama with her excellent detective skills. The fact that the murder they are trying to solve, was of a woman from a very strict religious family, who run a sexy lingerie business, adds to the intrigue and dilemmas. Nayir is still trying to over come all his sexist and religious prejudices so he can help Katya and prove he is worthy of her love. Again we are torn between amusement at the obstacles that Nayir faces because he is trying to help Katya without committing the sins of lust; and frustration at his failure to verbalise his desires and love for the modern Jeddah girl. Osama who prides himself on being a modern thinking man has his own difficulties dealing with the modern Saudi wife and you wonder how anything ever gets done in this country. A great thriller mixed with some interesting cultural insights . It doesn't take itself too seriously which is always a plus as far as I am concerned when blood and guts form a main part of the story line.....

That Deadman dance by Kim Scott

2011-08-23T02:50:00.000-07:00

This is a very sad story. You know no matter how hard Bobby Wabalanginy welcomes and assists his new white friends in his home country, that eventually they will no longer see themselves as the intruding compromising visitors, but they will become the all conquering colonialists who have no concept of sharing their meat, or food or housing or families. The white intruders will start to view the original owners as a hindrance, a barely visible population whose concept of sharing and nurturing the local land just reflect their inferiority. It takes Bobby some years to realise this, but by then it is too late. The whales and kangaroos have disappeared, many of his family have died from strange diseases and the love of his life won't have a bar of him because of the colour of his skin. Never the less he keeps trying .. a Beautiful and lyrical story. Bobby's dance stories describing the delight and excitment bought in by the newcomers eventually become weighed down by the burden of loss..... He can no longer see the happy ending....

The bodies left behind by Jeffrey Deaver

2011-07-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

We listened to this as an audio book from the outskirts of our Southern Riverina town to Sydney and back again. We pulled into the home driveway just as the last track was tieing up the final loose ends. The story had more twists and turns then the Hume highway and despite the protests from the back seat, passengers and drivers alike became riveted to the cat and mouse game being played in the Wisconsin State park between the apparently ruthless killers and their human prey. Just when you felt you had it all sorted out and you wondered what else could be on the next six cds some other little snippet was tossed up and you were thrown back into the murderuous quagmire of victim, killers, their families, friends and bosses. A great way to pass the time on a long drive ( Just don't break down near any of those endless looking forests near Sydney....

The marriage bureau of rich people by Farahad Zama

2011-07-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

This is a very gentle book that fills all my stereotypes about quirky Indian people and their approach to life. The Marriage Bureau has been set up by Mr Ali as his retirement business. He specialises in connecting people keeping in mind their special requests for caste , religion, family, home village , skin colour, profession and wealth or lack of it. When he gets so busy that he has no time for his wife and family, he hires Aruna to help ( neatly found by Mr Ali's very wise wife). Aruna comes with her own personal set of marriage and match making woes and eventually you realise there are lots of opportunities for a little unplanned romance. ( A bit of a no no in the Marriage Bureau business). This was a very light read, that does give you some insight into the intracacies and complications of India's social stratas and marriage rules. You really wonder after reading all the requirements of the Mr Ali's various customers how anyone ever gets hitched..

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom , 1999

2011-06-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

In spite of the content, the narrator meeting every Tuesday with a dying man to disucuss the meaning of life, this is not a miserable book. In many ways it is quite lighthearted although at times the moralist overtones are heavy handed. You can see what Morrie is getting at in his approach to life ( happiness is about opening you heart to love , forgiveness, not pushing the financial goals, always thinking how the other person feels, focusing on the moment, ). You come away feeling like you should try a bit harder to be a better person. That can't be a bad thing can it?....

The discovery of Jeanne Baret by Glynis Ridley

2011-06-23T03:18:00.000-07:00

This book would make a great movie. It has romance, adventure, intrigue, exotic locations and women ( or in this case woman) out shining men by their hard work, intelligence and dedication to a job. Jeanne Baret was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. And as if this wasn't difficult enough to do in the mid 1700s, she did it disguised as a man. Being a man was the only way she could be employed on the French naval ship that was setting off to explore new territories and land claims for the French empire. She and her employer/lover and partner in botanical exploration, Philibert Commerson, concocted the story so she could continue to work as his Botanist assistant and nurse. The hardship she endured because of this decision would be almost unendurable. She had to smash alot more than glass ceilings to surive and her journey is marvellous to read . The countries, politics and plants that were mentioned along the way makes the story even more exhilarating. Start bidding for the movie rights... its a sure winner

One day by David Nicholls

2011-06-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

This is the most frustrating love story you are ever likely to read. The prospective couple spend one platonic night together to celebrate the end of their college years and then trudge through the next 20 years not quite "hooking up". The time is never right; they are not sure of the others feelings, something dramatic happens to distract them, other relationships crop up, life continues, their paths keep crossing, they are best friends ( couldn't quite understand how their girlfriend/boyfriends tolerated this) or arch enemies depending on their own life circumstances. All the way through when that special anniversary ( July 15 ) pops up again you hope that for gosh sakes they will finally get it off, otherwise you are going to tear this cheap paperback version you bought to shreds .... It will make a great movie though ( you will be able to sit through all this frustration in just 90 minutes.... but you won't get off scot free even at the movies, there is sure to be lots of tears....

Little Princes by Conor Grennan, 2010

2011-06-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

This book immediately made me want to rush off to Nepal and save the world. My husband said surely there is something you could save closer to home ..but I felt those cute little smiling Nepalese need me. - Well when I actually looked on the website about Conor Grennan's organisation they don't really need me so much as donations to help them keep going. Volunteers are not usually allowed to go on exhibitions to help reunite trafficked Nepalese children with their families. Conor's efforts were also pretty scary. He had to fight off drunken Maoist rebel soldiers, a crook knee, freezing cold conditions and a very dangerous landscape to try and find some of "his " children's families. His story certainly warms the cockles of your heart and makes you want to loosen the credit card limit. You can see why everything is told with an adventurous glow and emotional accounts of the georgeous kids. I certainly want to open my wallet and my heart and you have to admire the way he has followed his own conviction to help these kids get back to their families. So I conquered my doubts about "do gooding yanks" dropping in from no where and acting like they know better.. because he tells a very compelling story, laced with his own self depcrecating doubts. Hopefully in the long run the kids will get the help they need....

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung

2011-05-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

Alice does not have an easy life. She is concieved in a refugee camp in Cambodia and just makes it to Australia to be born. As the oldest child in the Pung Family she is relied on to be the responsible daughter, looking after her younger siblings while both her parents work to make a successful life in Australia. The book is sometimes funny but often poignant. Alice's relationship with her mother is quite disturbing at times. Their lack of ability to communicate with each other and her mother's frustration at her inability to learn English is very moving. Alice's mother feels very isolated from both her Australian born children and the community because she can't speak English. Alice is torn between helping her mother negotiate the world and struggling to survive it herself. Alice at times seems to have a chip on her shoulder because she carries the burden of being the child of immigrant parents . ( She does not have the light heartedness and optomism of Anh Do's "Happiest refugee") I do love her descriptions of her family though; the way her father seems not to be able to stay in the room when any difficult discussions come up about boys or fashion or behaviour. Like many Fathers all over the world, he feels very uncomfortable with a daughter's teenage angst. No cultural differences there...

We had it so good by Linda Grant virago 2010

2011-05-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

You jump right into this story, following the lives of three generations, the stories they tell each other, the impact they have on each other;the baby boomers Stephen and Andrea , their kids Marianne and Max, Grace their globe trotting crazy friend and Stephen's parents, the immigrants to America. We hear stories of each of their lives, with one generation not really quite believing the other. Their intertwining stories are thoroughly engaginjg for a while, the parents or children never really understanding what the others "problem " is . Eventually you start to wonder, when is the big "thing" going to happen. I was waiting for the traditional plot line building to a crescendo. September 11 and the London bombings provide some of this life turning kind of fodder, but our character's still seem to just mosey along. In many ways the book is kind of depressing, because no one seems to appreciate what they have got until its time for someone to die. They live their lives and wonder where the time went. They are suddenly old or older, some achieving what they have always strived for and others like Stephen always wondering when he is going to change the world..... They live they die - some do it well and others not so well - true to life really..

Aphrodite's Hat by Salley Vickers

2011-05-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

A good book reviewer would be able to quote out of different stories and tell you which ones to watch out for. Unfortunately all the short stories in this book are a bit of a blur, but I do remember lots of love affairs, a bit of paranormal stuff , a couple of quirky conceptions, some inter family manipulation and bribery to make up a lovely and varied bunch of stories. They were easy to read , just light enough to make you smile with a touch of heaviness to make you think.

I loved this quote ( yes I stopped being a totally lazy reviewer and went back and looked)
“When Harriet Greenwald was cross she would often deal with it by gardening: vigorous, digging, raking and mowing best of all pruning usually paid put to any serious anger ..."p 87 - pruning is also one of my favourite blood sports......

Jack by Judy Johnson

2011-05-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

Being stuck on a pearling boat with Captain Jack is a very scary thought. Jack's demons slowly begin to appear as the pearling lugger, he captains gets further out to sea. The mixed race crew are very warey with good cause. This is a verse novel that builds into a gripping but very sad story . Once again I am amazed how poets can create such powerful and thrilling stories using so few words.

The personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

2011-04-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

Rachel DuPree is a black woman married to a black man, who wants to become the largest negro rancher in the Badlands regions. Now you know straight away that moving somewhere called the "Badlands " can't be good. Nevertheless, Rachel tries to make a go of it , battling droughts, dust storms and dead children until she realises that enough is enough. If her children are to have any semblance of a decent life, she must start looking out for herself and her offspring, rather than her husband's ambitons. Rachel must conquer more than the bad weather if she is to give her children a life that has some sweetness to enjoy, as well as the hard stuff. This is a great story which leaves you with no doubt as to why it was shorlisted for the Orange award for new writers. ( I love the discussion question in the back of the book also - saves a lot of work for us intrepid book clubbers)

The Paper Garden: Mrs Delaney begins her life's work at 72 by Molly peacock

2011-04-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

The beginning your life's work at 72, part of this book really appealed to me. There is hope to make some amazing creative contribution to the world yet, ( even if I have to do it it by my descendents). Peacock recreates the life of Mrs Delaney by looking at the beautiful paper flower mosaic collages she created in the 1700s, after she turned 72 years of aged. Peacock's interpretations of each flower in all it sensual glory as a pictorial analogy of an earlier episode in Mrs Delaney's life was original if not a little far fetched. Reading about these flowers as though they were Mrs Delaneys seeping memories was a beautiful experience. Mrs Delaney's life in the 1700s was creative and reflective of the beauty that she found in nature and her gardens. The negative aspects of her life such as her early marrige to a drunken oaf, 40 years her senior, were somehow tolerated by her desire to experience and recreate the beauty of her environment. Peacock created an enticing and sensual story that made me glow with every reading.

Still Life by Louise Penny

2011-04-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Still Life seems an apt title for a book which is almost totally predicatable in its who dunit mystery. If I read too many of these I would become a still life who views every comment as a clue and every neighbour and friend as a possible murder suspect. Nevertheless as an occasional read it was quite fun to follow the Senior crime detective Gamache's way of solving a small village murder. The intrigue of the local art world and the strange goings of of village family and friends kept Gamache and his crew of city detectives on their toes for most of the book. The way Gamache "reads" people ( including the snooty new girl detective in the team) makes detecting for him a bit like picking up a book. I guess he will be solving other crimes this way, ( and there was some reference in this book to previous cases) so if you like this kind of thing you would be able to read other books and watch him bring all his special people reading skills to solving many crimes.

Playing with water: a story of a garden by Kate Llewellyn

2011-04-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Reading this book was a picnic. You could smell, see and taste ( yes there were recipes) Kate's new garden. I wanted to move in and help her build her cottage garden by the sea. I wanted to live in the street where she decided to start a communal garden by the local stark railway station. I wanted to lobby her neighbours to plant trees on the streetscape and fight the garden war against the vandals who thought it was a joke to dig up every new plant. Early on in this book , Kate mentioned some obscure fact about gardening and she supposed the reader wouldn't mind as you wouldn't be reading this book if you didn't love gardening. I thought well yes you would. I would rather read about it then do it, but even Kate has inspired me to put on the gardening gloves. Not sure how long it will last, but the garden at my house will not knock back any tender loving care no matter how short lived. My garden thanks you Kate from the bottom of its mulch heap..

10 short stories you must read in 2010

2011-04-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Yes I know I am a year behind, but these stories still seem damn good. Some great aussie writers, Maggie Alderson, Georgia Blain, Nick Earls, Alex Miller, Christos Tsiolkas.,all writing to their forte.

Tsiolkas writes about family tension stretched to the limits between a mother and son. Alderson, writes about vintage fashion with an eerie twist. Malla Nunn, looks at the double standards of South African apartheid, Craig Silvey writes about adult lives and issues through the eyes of a child... Judy Nunn horrifies us with a gruesome murder and its sinister implications.. Loved them all and could read each one in a short satisfactory bursts great for a bus ride home

Room by Emma Donague

2011-03-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

Initally this book is quite sinister and disturbing as we view the world through the eyes of Jack, a five year old who has been locked in a tiny room with his mother since his birth. Once I conquered my queasiness I was totally hooked by their plight and the terror of the cat and mouse game they played with "old nick"

Then, always keeping book club in mind, I started to wonder what is there to " discuss" in this book. As you follow the Mother and son's journey to the outside world you start to question the strange and corrupt ways of the "real" world. You ask yourself what would we be like if we were totally shut off from outside influences ( other then TV). Like the mum and her son, what choices would we make to survive and have some semblance of a meaningful life in a confined space. You feel the boy's attachment to the place where he grew up no matter how terrible it seemed. The threats of the wide world often seemed worse than those of the room and the mother has just as much trouble protecting him from the wide world as she did from the dangers in the room. It reminded me of the Eva Hornung book "Dog boy". Like the boy in that book you know they will to face the big wide world eventuallybut you can't help feeling that the so called normal world is actually a scarier place than the one they had left behind.

True Grit by Charles Portis

2011-03-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

I only read this book because I could buy it cheaply from one of those websites that apparently sent Angus and Roberston and Borders under. I had been dying to see the new movie version, but as usual logistics and distance from a cinema meant I missed it. Reading the book seemed the next best option and getting it cheaper than a movie tickect seemed even better. I have never of heard of this cheap website until the reports of the famous book shops' demise. So wracked with guilt because I was about to send the Australian book industry under, I decided to order something. My Grit was not as tough as the young girl in the story. I had given up on ever receiving it when it arrived in the mail 3 weeks later ( no mail charge). It was exciting when it turned up, but not as much fun as browsing in a book shop and reading the first line. Unfortunately when you live out in the desert book shops are few and far between, so the occasional purchase like this can be fun .. but still ,I think I will keep on with my local newsagent. ( The next one I thought I might purchase was not available at the cheap website and the next online website required so much postage it was cheaper to get from the local newsagent) . Ok I guess the battle with my conscience was not as great as some of the battles in this book. Yes there was lots of blood and guts and guns and philosophising about life from a tough cowboy perspective. Ocassionally I got sick of the vendetta type battles and no claiming of victory until all the bad guys are dead. I can't wait to see the movie ( because I love a bit of blood and guts on the big screen), but the book was a bit too boringly gruesome for me. I am glad I didn't pay too much for it...

Things you get for free by Michael McGirr

2011-03-21T03:05:00.001-07:00

Going on holidays with your mum when you are 30 something is bound to dredge up a few childhood memories and secrets, the things you had forgotten as well as the things you would like to forget. McGirr's trip to Europe and England with his mum is part memoir part travel story. Both aspects are very endearing and you can't help falling in love with Maureen ( Michael's Mum) and her knowing motherly/catholic/ witty and wise ways. McGirr's descriptions of his fellow travellers as they wander through the most famous monuments in Europe are delightful. We don't learn much about Europe , but we have little doubt about what its like to travel with a bus load of Amercians ( "get out of here"). McGirr's employment as a Jesuit priest also gives us a different slant on the traditional travel story as we hop between the diverse range of "Catholic" destinations that he and his mum want to visit, along with a few significant personal family history spots along the way.

The secret lives of dresses by Erin Mckean, Hodder 2011

2011-03-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

The dresses lives were more exciting then the herione's Dora, but still an enjoyable read. It did make me want to get out all my old clothes and start wearing them again. ( If they fit of course). Dora returns from college to her home town to look after her grandmother's vintage clothes shop after the Grandmother has a stroke. She wonders what she should do with her life. For the reader the answer is fairly obvious by the second chapter and yes it does involve a man and vintage clothes, but nevertheless you can have a nice restful read while you wait for her to do the obvious.

The happiness project by Gretchen Rubin

2011-03-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

Now this women must have a lot of time on her hands. She is trying to make her life happier. She is trying to make heself a better parent, a more loving wife, a nicer person allround. She wants to reach her happiness potential. The book is a commentary on the various projects she works on as she tries to carry out different resolutions for each month to make herself happier. ( How come people can blog this stuff and then make a fortune - when are my book rights happening...?) Although I know this does sound like "Eat pray Love" self indulgent twaddle I somehow couldn't put it down. I wanted to see if she could do it. ( Maybe it is something that we readers could do also)
I was also waiting for the big bad crunch to come, which is kind of why she was doing it really. She seemed worried that her reasonably happy life could fall apart and she may not be able to cope unless she had practiced her happiness strategies. She was in training for happiness just incase the worst happened, and she seemed to have plenty of time to do it. I am just not sure if people in normal jobs with a couple of young kids who didn't live in a beautiful apartment in New york, with very understanding husbands and family near by would actually be able to do it. I was just exhausted from thinking about all the effort...

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, 1999

2011-02-22T00:17:00.000-08:00

A tragic story about a young teenage girl's remarkable endurance after her family has been hit by tragedy. She lives on a struggling Oklahoma farm during the depression. A massive drought has virtually desecrated the area and the place is constantly inundated by massive dust storms. Tragedy , strife, survival are all features of the story, but the thing I really loved about it the most is that it is told in a simple poetry form ( very similar to Steve Herricks). As a reader you are overwhelmed by the emotions and the drama of the story with oh so few words. (A God send for the time deprived who want to read Tolstoy but feel like the daily comics is all they have time for...)

The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Allen & Unwin 2010

2011-02-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

I realised how much I enjoyed this book, when I woke up one morning to find my water bottle had spilled onto the cover. I had already decided to use it as my feature book for my library promotion this month and now I had manage to wrinkle the first few pages. Ah what a blow, but with some careful drying out and other librarian secret tricks ( like putting the sticky tape holder on top of it) I have decided it is still worth showing, because this was a very easy to read book, on what could be a very traumatic topic. Anh Do's light hearted and positive attitude to life, inspite of the hardships and tragedy experienced by his family , are heart warming and inspiring.

Fall Girl By Tonio Jordan

2011-01-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

A silly premise, but still an enjoyable book. Della Gilmore is a professional con artist, trying to make a liviong and please her con family. She has got all the usual family baggage, without the beneift of the outside world having had much input. Della hadn't been allowed to go to school or uni, because their identities needed to be un traceable. things get confusing when Della falls fall her latest mark, but basicallically you have to expect this in a light love yar. I like "Addition" a lot better, but this still was an enjoyable read

Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

2011-01-18T20:35:00.001-08:00

Disturbing is a word that always comes to mind when reading a Sonya Hartnett novel. The childhood of Hartnetts ‘s characters are full of grim loneliness and grief. Fourteen year old Plum is certainly no different. She has a circle of friends she struggles to stay in touch with. Her family, though loving, have difficulty connecting and reaching out to each other. At first Plum’s, older next door neighbour, Maureen , seems like she could be Plum’s saviour, setting her free from her despair. You quickly realise, however, as in all Sonya Hartnett books, nothing is going to be that easy for the teenage Plum and you are soon see sawing between gripping fear of what tragedy might occur and hope that somehow most of the characters can be saved from themselves....

Wyatt by Garry Disher

2011-01-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

Yikes! When you look beyond the suburban back yard, Melbourne can be quite a sinister place, at least according to Gary Disher. Even quiet, staid middle class Mornington peninsula , Bentleigh and Brighton do not escape the crims or Disher’s scathing comments, about the predictability of suburban life . Following the working lives of Criminals ( both the ones we love – those with their own scruples and moral codes and the ones we hate – those who seemed to be driven totally by their own desire for evil doing and wealth) keeps us glued to our reading glasses all through this novel. All in all gripping good fun and a great holiday read as you cruise down to the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula.

The idiot and the Odyssey; walking the mediterranean by Joel stratte-Mclure

2011-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

He was an idiot because he wanted to walk around the Mediterranena sea. It was an Odyssey because that's what Homer called it when he wrote his epic poem describing Odysseus's journey back to his home land across the Mediterranean. Stratte-Mclure looks to Homer for inspiration when his own personal mid life crisis journey around the Med .. seems insurmountable. I thoroughly enjoyed this travel memoir. Stratte-Mclure's descriptions of the towns and village, ports and terrain over which he scrambles trying to keep as close as he possible can to the sea are quite motivating. ( Yes I want to put my walking shoes on after every read) His Buddhist walking meditation and his various companions all created very entertaining reading. I was routing for him to complete his wanderings but various political situations were hindering some of the journey. His walking shoes may have to be revamped for another installment... but he is philosophical."The goal is the path, the path is the goal" ...

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

2011-01-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

Did I say it last year. I am never reading a booker prize winner again. This was the most excruciatingly painful read I have had in a long time. I wouldn't have finished it except that we have chosen it as a book club discussion book ( My suggestion - groan moan). It took me two chapters to work out that Finkler was really a substitute word for Jew. The main character Treslove seemed to want to turn into a Jew , much to the irritation of most of his family friends and myself. His obsession with Judaism was understandable, as they seem to have a fascinating culture and religion, but rather than just converting, he seemed to want to be reborn . His Jewish friend Finkler belonged to a weird organisation called "ASHamed Jews' who did not like Israel's stance in Gaza .Treslow seemed obsessed with the idea of cirmcumcision and its effect on your sex life, among other things. All the male characters in the book were obsessed with sex in one way or another and seemed to treat women abysmally. One of the few sensible characters was Libor and he jumped off a cliff somewhere in the book and I can see why after hanging out with some of these other dudes.

Addition by Toni Jordon

2011-01-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

A very amusing Obsessive compulsive love yarn. Grace gets through life by counting. When the new love of her life suggests she goes to therapy, you realise there is more to life then simply being able to behave like everyone else. Cognitive behavour therapy and anti depressant drugs aren't always the answer....acceptance and tolerance and a good sense of humor could also help....

Like being a wife by Catherine Harris, vintage books 2010

2010-11-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

The perfect short story , is something you can sit a ponder in snatches, when your attention span is too tired for a long heart wrenching novel. A good short story can tear at your heart strings without totally gobbling you up and leaving you unhinged for days. Catherine Harris short stories were the perfect antedote as I roamed the bookshelves ( and shops) trying to focus on something to read that would fit my mood of the time. They were about love families relationship and work. All the stuff you can related to, but occasionally good to be able to laugh about someone else perspective and suppress the glimmers of affinity. My favourite story in this collection was called "Our breakfast show hostess or how I gained 15 Kilos - A memoir " The heroine who gains 15 kilos reached for the finger bun, every time work didn't go the way she would have liked. ..... This is probably the key to the western world obesity problem...

Bereft by Chris Womersley Scribe 2010

2010-11-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

Bereft is a sad story in case you didn't guess from the title. A soldier returns to his home town after World War 1 to see his dieing mother . He has been disfigured by the war, and is hopfeul that he will not be recognised in the community. His sister was brutally raped and murdered before the war and he has been wrongfully accused of the crime. He is a sad soul and he is uncertain of what he wants to achieve from the return other then seeing his mother and convincing her that he couldn't and didn't comitt such terrible atrocities on his beloved sister. He meets up with a strange little girl who is hiding from the local authorities. She is determined to set him on the path of avenging his sister's death. It was a strange novel filled, with suffering, lonliness and longing. You realise that post world war 1 was far from euphoric time in Australia, with so many young men dead and more lives being threatened with the deadly influenza virus. It is easy for a young man and girl to hide themselves because no one has the energy to probe. Everyones sins are being atoned on earth. It was like a living hell.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey 2009

2010-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

I had trouble with the premise of this book. Would a couple of young teeange boys who find a gruesome murder really dispose of the body rather than tell the authorities? I could understand why one of the boys , Jasper Jones might want to cover it up. Jasper Jones is on the outer in the small 1960's town of Corrigan. His Aboriginal heritage combined with a drundard father that continually beats him up and abandons him, has meant he leads a life as a outcast. He is usually accused of any wrong doing in town. The other boy , Charlie though bamboozled me . He kept the whole thing s secret while the town searches for the missing person. The thing is though, I got totally sucked into the story even as I wanted Charlie to put eveyone's mind at rest ( mine most of all). As we weave our way deeper into the inner workings of the small rural community you realise there is a lot of sleezy dirt, bigotry and discontent lurking inside the well kept homes of the Corrigan township. Little wonder that every teenager in the town seems hell bent on leaving. At times I wanted to also , but the story kept hauling me back.... How were they going to get out of this horrible mess.....

Death in the Mountains by Lisa Clifford, 2008

2010-11-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is a gripping exploration of peasant life in Tuscany in the early 1900s .Peasants were bound by the Mezzadria system where they could not own their own lands and were only entitled to half the proceeds from produce they grew. Life was full of hardwork and hardship. Petty jealousies and rivalies thrived as people tried to stay on the right side of their farm managers. Put into this mix a brutal murder and it seems very difficult to isolate possible suspects. Lisa Gifford has written this story based on a murder in her husband's family that was never solved. While she delves into the story we follow the difficulties and joys of the peasant families and how they survived and strove for a better life. They were bound by the old ways , but yearning always for a more secure future for their families. It was interesting to see how far some things have advanced in a century but also , how little some things have changed particularly in terms of human relationship and families. Understandably life and relationships could be alittle more relaxed and easy going if you didn't have to cart water, work non stop in the fields, watch your children and animals die from unexplained illnesses, hoard food to survive the winter while at all time being dependent on the whim of a fickle farm manger. After reading this, Tuscany does not seem the idyllic destination that the travel brochures tell us about.

The 19th wife by David Ebershoff, double day 2008

2010-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Like Lacuna, this story mixes fact with fiction to make an interesting account of a piece of history I know little about. ( I was a little wary though, inspite of previous recommendations, when I found it in a second hand bookshop where they had it categorised as" chick lit").

Anne Eliza is the "19th wife" (although this is not necessaily an accurate number ) of Brigham Young, the second prophet for the Mormon church. We also have the modern story of Jordan , a young man who is trying to solve the mystery of the murder , his mother ( also a 19th wife) has been accused. The story leaps between the past and present using newpaper accounts, research notes, interviews, biographies and church documents to tell the tale. We learn about the history of the mormon church in America, how it was established, the struggle for converts, the difficulties of being accepted by the general community, fear of people who were not from the same church and fear of the outside world generally. The whole thing was rivetting, because you can't help being intrigued by the idea of polygamous marriages which at times just seems a front for dirty old men wanting a young bit of skirt , with the whole thing being draped in religious zealotry and a direct "route" to heaven. You wonder about the cruelty of plural marriage ( it only seemed to benefit the sex drives of the blokes and even then it came to be a burden) but at times you could also see that people were happy with their lot in life, because of their faith. The book raises the question of human rights versus the practice of religious freedom. It was an interesting and enjoyable book although occasionally the modern story seemed to lose the thread. Eventually the threads reconnect and I can move on with a self satisfied feeling that all the lose ends have been tied up.. although Iam still wondering what happened to the other brother James......

A simple gift by Steven Herrick

2010-10-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

I still enjoyed this book the second time round. It is one of the texts chosen by the local school for a HSC set text. It is about a boy who runs away because of his father's terrible abuse. He finds a new home and acceptance in an abandoned railway carriage. Steven Herrick uses his simple poetic prose to tell a story of people looking after each other and making connections. You can see why it was chosen for the HSC belonging theme.

Life in his hands ; the true story of a neuro surgeon and a poianist by susan wynward

2010-10-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

I think I will have to stop reading medical books. They are really creeping me out. This is the true story of Aaron Mcmillan a young and gifted pianist and Charlie Teo the radical Sydney based neuro surgeon at Prince of Wales who tries to save his life. Wynard describes their relationship as they come together to try and conquer Aaron's brain trumor so he can lead a fuller life. Both their stories are inspirational because they have to tread a non traditional path in their chosen field to achieve their goals. Teo as the neuro surgeon , tusssles with the medical fraterinity because his methods are radical and new. Mcmillan stages his own concerts and recordings so he can get his music heard. Egos loomed large in this book and you wonder about how much they impinge on the lives of people who are making life changing decisions. This was certainly an easy and inspiring read, but I was worried about the ending because I knew it had to be sad. As one of my co book clubbers said to me , it not the type of book I would want to rush in and read again......

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

2010-10-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is a scary book about a brilliant University professor, Alice, developing early onset Alzheimer’s in her 50th year. It is scary of course because I am 50 this year. Suddenly all those stories about it can't happened to you if you keep your brain active seem totally irrelevant. The novel gives an eerie account of what it must be like to develop alzheimers from the persepctive of the sufferer and a good explanation of the disease. Alice families' reaction and her fight to have her wishes followed while she is still able to lucidly express them make for a rivetting and insightful book.

Noahs' compass by anne Tyler

2010-10-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Our ageing hero, Liam Pennywell , is getting set for a low key retirement, when he is knocked unconscious during a robbery and loses memory of the event . He starts to wonder about all the missing memories of his life . He questions the direction he has followed in life and wonders if he has really only been skirting the edges. Liam discusses with his four year old grandson Jonah the concept of Noah's and his ARK and why Noah didn't need a compass. “He was just trying to stay afloat . He was just bobbing up and down, so he didn't need a compass, or a rudder or a sextant....Noah didn't need to figure out directions, because the whole world was underwater and so it made no difference" . This statement seems to sum up Liam’s feelings on his own life . We wonder and pray that an awakening love interest with Eunice and a bit of emotional pushing and shoving from his family he might be able to give his life some direction and finally leave behind the tragedies from his past- but then again , in typical Anne Tyler fashion, he may not.....

Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

2010-09-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

I advoided reading this book for some time because it was a fat one. I loved one of her ealier books "The poisonwood bible"but her next one where a woman is communing with wolves in a forest left me cold. Consequently I wasn't enthused about reading this because it could be 500 pages of "when is it ever going to end". Then she won the "Orange prize" so I challanged our book club to have a go at it. Actually I think this was a good book club choice because there is lots os "isms" to discuss. Communisnm, Stalinism Trotskysim, Marcarthyism, sexism and homophobia ( not really an ism - but you know what iImean) just to name a few. The struggle for identity for someone brought up across two cultures is another talking point. Fear is a continuing theme of the book. Your personal world being slowly turned upside down by other peoples' unfounded fears is very disturbing. The style of the novel was unusal with its diaries, letters, newspaper articles compiling to make up a jigsaw puzzle of peoples lives. Unforutnately I did find the first half a bit tedious . Most of that part of the book is based around the "hero" Harrison Shepherd's description of the lives of his employers, artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Mexico . He describes their rather volatile and enthralling lives by recounting of events in his diary/letter to Frida who was often excluded form the inner world of her husband's interactions with Trostky and his world wide campaign to bring down Stalin. In the second half of the novel Harrison has moved to America and now we learn about how the first half of his life impacted so dangerously on the second. The forties and fitfies in American culture appears to be a great time for all those terrible "isms" to come to the fore ..Now the story becomes engrossing and I feel like I can't put it down. ( I am also conscious I have to move it on to someone else in the book group....

Manhattan Dreaming by Anita Heiss Bantam 2010

2010-09-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

This "chick Lit" novel was a mish mash of travelogue, Art and Aboriginal rights lessons mixed up with some moral tales about not being used by a man. I was never too sure if the lesson being learnt was not to go out with men who play rugby league ( already knew that one) , or just not to read chick lit with a message. Still I would not mind going to Manhatten to check out the indignous art museums and a few other sites so I suppose something in it must have worked.

Passenger to Teheran by Vita Sackville-West 1926

2010-09-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

Although written in 1926 this small travelogue recounting Vita Sackville - West's trip to 'Persia" still seems to have lots of pertinant tips for current travellers. Early on in the book there is a delightful paragraph on packing your suitcase and how it eventually becomes a burden you can no longer face. She cringes about the Europeans living away from their home countries "who go on with their teaparties and their leaving of cards and their speculations about why someone was not to be seen yesterday , at someone else's house" transporting their old ways and comforting habits into the completely new surroundings. She prefers the bazaars just to look because as she comments as a foreigner she can never really understand the life of the local. She describes tearfully her emotions about her impending departure. Every activity is suddenly scewed by the thought that she will no longer be able to experience it "this time next week...".

Her discussion of of the local cultures , the treatment of women and then the development of communism were also engrossing. When she gets caught up in a local revolution on her way back to England she describes beautifully the comradery that develops between travellers when thrown together in awkward ( and sometimes dangerous) circumstances. A beautiful travelogue that made me smile with appreciation .... and of course as usual I want to hop on the next boat/steam train out of here....

How a moth becomes a boat by Josephine Rowe Hunter 2009

2010-09-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Josephine Rowe's very short stories are poignantly hard hitting straight to the point. The first one "Love" still stands out. A father teaching a young girl to smash whisky bottles against the wall, while the mother stands grimly watching from a distance. You wonder at the sinister violence of the father/ daughter activity... A very thin small book, easy to miss on the shelves, but well worth the search.

Ten Hail Mary's by Kate Howarth

2010-08-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Howarth's book has just won Age non fiction book of the year. It is a harrowing story about a young woman growing up in the fifties , abandoned by her own mother and cruelly treated by many members of her own family, only to find herself pregant at the same age as her mum and determined not to give up her baby for adoption. The stories of the St Margaret's home for unwed mothers were horrific. According to Howarth the girls were not only treated like slaves but forced to give up their babies for adoption. Howarth was inspired to write the book after a 20o2 NSW inquiry practice into adoption had witnesses saying girls were given plenty of support, which according to Howarth was untrue. The story prior to the birth of her baby seems to have made her more determined then ever to fight the system. She appeared to be very much shaped by her early life. In the end she was forced to marry the baby''s father to give him a roof over his head, but her life didn't improve and history seemed to repeat itself. A cautionary tale ....about how we don't want it to be...

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1850s)

2010-08-23T03:37:00.001-07:00

Number 2 son was coincidently studying the Industrial Revolution in Modern history at school while I read Elizabeth Gaskell's thoughts on it, in her 1850s Novel "North and South". The North and South is a term used to cover the division that was created in England because of the new manufacturing industries . There were great changes overwhelming the county and threatening to upset the traditonal class status quo. The south was seen as the sunny genteel place of education, culture and pleasant non polluting farm practice where old money and aristsocrats had time for leisure and education. The north was the hub of the new manufacturing industires and the nothern cities were full of dark gloomy factories and pollution and "vile" new money and struggling unions. Somehow Gaskell explains all this beautifully with a stirring love story which has the genteely poor heroine Margaret moving from the South to the North with her family so her father can find work as a teacher , after leaving his church ministry because of a crisis of his Anglican faith.The novel covered every possible angle and point of view., from the poor struggling factory worker with chronic health issues because of their job, to the idle rich non stop partying to the gainfully employed tradesperson made good by his own hard work. No wonder Margaret was confused about who she should love and socialise with. I found it all very rivetting,,, I can't wait for the BBC to convert it to Sunday night television..

The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper, Penguin 2008

2010-08-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

The subtitle of this book "death and life on Palm Island" seems almost inapproriate. It is more like "death and death on Palm IsLand as we follow one tragic incident after another. Violence , booze , bashings and assaults seem to be normal activities for most of the residents of the Isand ( whether black or white ) . Chloe Hooper appears to have little doubt that Hurley, the white policman was probably guilty of causing the death of Cameron Doomadgee after a fairly minor street infringement. I guess the point is that what ever happened the whole place is a living hell inspite of the idyllic scenery. Hoopers language definitely has alot of sympathy for the blackfellas on the island. She manages to show us the grim details of what it is like to be born Aboriginal in far northern Queensland describing both the disintegration and the small joys of peoples lives. At times I found her language disturbing because Hurley and his police colleagues were described in quite violent and evil tones - the implication was that they were guilty inspite of the difficulties of the witnesses. Then again there is little doubt that the police were a force unto themselves and would stop at nothing to show Hurley's innocence - including investigations that were done by his close friends and colleagues . There is little doubt that a bomb needed to be put under the whole police department and that Aboriginal people were usually seen as guilty until proven innocnect. She also describes the traumatically violent ways the Aboriginal people dealt with each other and you realise that it is a place full of tragedy and conflicts for everyone. The legacy of Christian mission is still present and mixes precarioulsy with corrupt police practices and a totally depressed people. Most of the black fellahs on the island were there because they themselves or their parents had been foreceably seperated from their families on the mainland. According to Hooper the corrupt Queensland police force were determined to stick together no matter what with the cry that know one can really understand what it is like to live and work in remote Aboriginal communities . I think this is the most disturbing aspect of the book. It is very difficult to to have any comprehenison of what it must be like for the white or black fellas living there except that it is all very sad and tragic. It is far easier not to have to think about it. As you read this book you yearn to pick up some light fiction that could help obliterate some of the heartbreak from you mind ...

Prescious ( Push) by Saphire

2010-08-08T18:01:00.001-07:00

Probably the most annoying thing about the edition of this book I read is that the title was changed for the release of the movie "Precious" based on the novel "Push". I am not sure why they had to do that because the title "Push" has a lot to do with how Precious, the teenage mother of two, learns to read and eventually achieve her goals. It is a powerful and confronting story . You certainly hope there are not too many young mothers out in the world who have experienced the horrors that"Precious" has had to overcome to try and make a decent life for herself and her family. I particularly loved Precious's journey into the world of reading. The story describes beautifully the process of an adult person learning to read from scratch and some great technqiues to help this happen. It also has some scary insights into what teachers and many in the social services industry should not do if they want to help their young charges. Most of whom (if Precious is any example) have alot more to contend with in life than getting to school on time... An amazing and compelling story....

Anita Heiss

2010-08-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

I have just discovered this fabulous Aboriginal poet and story teller. I feel like I have been missing out on something all these years. Her book of poems
" I'm not a racist , but" were frightenly good at hitting the mark using a vey simple graphic style. I have also just read her children's book "The diary of Mary Talence" about a 10 year old Aboriginal girl from 1930's Australia, who has been forceably removed from her family , then The Children's home to live with a white family in Sydney so she can assimiliate as white. Her experience of isolation, lonliness and racism is moving , but yet written with good humour. We understand with out it being too heavy handed. I haven't tried Heiss's Chick Lit yet ( yes she is a very versatile writer)...That will be next

On the road by Jack Kerouac

2010-08-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

This book almost defeated me. Would Dean and Sal never settle down and take some responsibility for their lives ? Set in the fifties, Dean wanders from one side of the US to the other with Sal and other friends in tow, hooking up with women, sometimes getting married , making babies then abandoning them all to set off on another trip. They were living off friends and family with the occasional job. I suppose this story has become a classic because it is about living life for the moment and being thrilled by what is yet to come, but in the end I just got bored. Their relationships were a mess. They were boozed and drugged alot of the time ( God only knows how they weren't killed by Dean's crazy driving). In the end I really couldn't see the point and I guess eventually maybe they couldn't either. It worries me that numerous young men may have followed in the footsteps of the "beat generation" and left many women behind stuggling with families and children just so their loser lovers could live the dream... My own boys roll their eyes when they here me talk like this ( They loved the book of course)

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

2010-07-24T17:31:00.002-07:00

I am have been reading this concurrantly with Jack Keroac's On the road' and you can see many similarities with the two books. Holly Golithly is a sweeter version of Dean Moriaty , but I sympathised a lot more with her story of living off her looks, wits and female wiles . Holly is out for a good time while also trying to make her fortune by hanging out with wealthy men. Even though they exploit her for her chalms, she still manages to keep something for herself . Her ideal home would be somewhere beautiful , calm and soothing like Tiffany's jewellery shop. Although she eventually disapears from the world of our narrator, her down stairs neighbour you know ( or hope) she is still searching for her jackpot...

Talking books

2010-07-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok I know it seems like months since I blogged ( well only a couple of weeks actually - but in blogger days this is a very long time). I have been busy doing things like stock takes and taking up hems and cleaning the gutters and cleaning mouse poo out of cupboards and going on long car trips. All jobs that have to be done ( in my world anyway) but ones that sometimes make it difficult to sit down and read a book. So to make these "ho hum" tasks the highlight of my day I have been using my ears rather than my eyes. Talking books are great for those mind numbing activites that you just can't wait to have done and I seemed to have had quite a few of those lately. I tried Elizabeth Noble " Things I wanted my daughters to know", but I found the drivel in this book almost as mind numbing as the stock take I was trying to complete. So I moved onto Cormac Mcarthy's "Blood Meridian" - now that was a shock to the the Library system. The blood curdling descriptions are still burning my ears. The gory murder and mayhem of Indian scalp hunters in late 19th century America was almost more than my little librarian's ears could bare. I also made the mistake of listening to an abridge version. , so not only was there terrifyingly cruel ,blood thirsty killings being transmitted across the air waves I could not often get the connections with a story line. There always seemed to be something missing, so I moved on. A long car trip was the next motivation to "listen" but here the trap is that you have to time your journey to fit in with the length of the book. My husband and I got totally captivated by the description of a Moslem investigator looking into the the suspicious death of a young moslem girl in Saudi Arabia. Zoe Ferraris book "Finding Nouf" is a definite time blurrer. Nayir's attempts to solve the crime without breaching any gender relations or religious eitquette are frustratingly endearing. You get as caught up in his religious dilemmas and how he will resolve them as he tries to solve the murder of a young moslem woman. We had lapped the block a few times just to hear the great ending. Rose Melikans "The Blackstone Key" was a great good stocktake book. It is light, funny and romantic with thrilling dark mysterious gentlemen and feisty 17th century rosey cheek heroines to keep you entertained without too much concentration. It was a a book I wouldn't normally pick up to read , but the talker's' lovely tongue in cheek style had me immediately hooked. Mary Finch's plight was thoroughly absorbing as she tried to solve the mysteries surrounding the papers and suspicious activities going on at her deceased uncle's mansion. I actually had to buy this book so I could finish it. There were just too many car trips where various companions wanted updates before I could start listening. In the end I thought I will just finish it in the traditional manner ( ie reading) and move on.....

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, Picador ,2009

2010-07-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Eilis Lacey is a reluctant emmigrant to /America from Ireland. Her widowed mother and sister thought it was best as there were few job opportunities ( or marriage prosepects) in her small 1950's Irish hometown. The Brooklyn Parish priest ( also an Irish immigrant) helps find her a job and accommodation and before she can say leprocaun she is riding the sea sick waves of an unexpected journey from which there seemed to be no turning back. She overcomes an oppressive bout of homesickness through study and hard work .Her sense of duty to the task seems to numb her to sense of self.. She eventually finds a boy friend and a feeling of happiness descends upon her. Eilis's life has been set in motion by a force over which she appears to have no control. We get caught up in her efforts to please others and to make those she loves happy and we want her to find true happiness in her new life. However when tragedy strikes back home in Ireland you realise that the happiness was fleeting. Eilis's sense of duty will eventually tear her apart. Toibin weaves a poignant story of grief and loss and duty. I was moved by every faltering step of her touching journey.

The dubliners by James Joyce, ( first published 1914) collectors edition 2005

2010-07-04T02:43:00.000-07:00

I am reading a beautiful little pinkish/red hard copy version of this book. It has silky smooth pages with gold trim. Although I have borrowed it from a library no one has read it before because many of the pages have to be carefully seperated from the previous one. It has a lovely red ribbon page marker that keeps you posted on where you are up to with each story. ( No need for immoral page corner turning down here). You can slowly savour each page as you explore the dark and dank alleyways of early 20th century Dublin.The red ribbon will loyally mark the spot you fell asleep over , companionably waiting for you to wake before you plunge again into the grief , turmoil, fears, loves and inertia of working class Dubliners. The book is small enough to fit into your hand. I don't care how wonderful the new ipad is I am sure it will be never be as sensual as flicking through this tiny tome. Although Joyce's Dublin never seems to have a sunny day ; the grog is something that can both delight and terrify; the Church is something to ridicule and fear; each story delivers something memorable to ponder over. We glide over each story wondering about the fickle and univerals ways of Dubliners in particular and the human race in general ...

Mr Rosenblum's list by Natasha Solomon, sceptre 2010

2010-07-04T02:26:00.000-07:00

Another quaint English novel with quirky English characters, and queer little habits. Do you think all these "qu" words pop up because the English have been lead by a Queen for so many years.

Mister Rosenblum is a Jewish /German refugee escaping pre world war 2 Nazi Germany with his wife , Sadie and daughter Elizabeth. In his appreciation of escaping the nasty horrors that befell many members of his extended family he is determined to become the perfect English Gentleman, following to the letter a brochure given to him on resettlment. However he realises very quickly that the brochure doesn't cover everything an immigrant needs to know about blending in with the English homeland so he decides to add to the list to ensure that anyone following in his footsteps won't make the same mistake he has. This is really a novel a people wanting to belong. Mr Rosenblum's efforts are probably more extreme than most- building his own golf course because no English golf club will admit him - borders between madness and daring . It is full of sad little asides- his own daughter wanting to change her name to rid her self of her foreigner past, Sadie's obsession with the family photos, the purchase of a quaint little thatched roof English cottage which is actually falling down around their ears. Mr Rosenblum continually asks who is the Quintessential English man. The answer continues to evade him until he meets the ....pig. A humorous story that does highlight the difficulties immigrants face when they try to make a new country home. Even more poignantly it emphasises the difficulties the original citizens can have in welcoming and accepting these newcomers....

Remarkable creatures by Tracy Chevalier, Harper Collins 2009

2010-06-28T03:23:00.000-07:00

This is another story story about women with passions, talents and skills who are denied acknowledgement of these gifts by the male dominated world they live in. However unlike Rowan's biography, Chevalier manages to engage you at a much more deeply emotional level as she ventures into the unchartered fictionalised terrority of these womens' hearts and souls. Mary the poor working class girl and Elizabeth the gentiley poor upper class spinster became friends in a small English sea side village in the early 1800s through their passion for sea fossils and their interest in trying to understand these strange creatures from the past. They slowly begin to question the biblical interpretation of the creation of the world as the male dominated scientific and religious communities also struggled to fit the pieces of the evolutionary jigsaw puzzle. The "learned" men in the story used the women for their own pecunarary and academic benefits without ever recoginising any form of exploitation ( surprise surprise !!). This was an intriguing story based on real people, events and ideas. It was a story about friendship and understanding that true friends can help you overcome many obstacles and barriers in life. The book was also a great insight into the sexist workings of society ( Women were not even allowed to step into the the Geological Society's quarters let alone discuss any of the ideas that were proclaimed there.) Tracey Chevalier has a gift for taking snippets of real peoples lives , struggles and passions and turning them into compelling insightful stories that help explain our journey from the past until the present.

The flower Hunter; the remarkable life of Ellis Rowan by Christine & Michael Morton-Evans , National Library of australia 2009

2010-06-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Ellis Rowan was a very determined women. Inspite of her lack of interest in the suffragette movement at the turn of the 20th century she still managed to forge a remarkably independent life for a woman of the day. Her determination to follow her passion for botany and art and to record as many wildflowers in Australia and other remote spots in the world as possible, was quite awe inspiring. This story reflects her personal battle for recognition in the male dominated botanical and art world where being a woman dictates how seriously were work would be treated. Her parents early support and wealth gave her the opportunity to explore and travel far from the family safety net. The saddest part of the story was the difficulties she had in maintaining a close relationship with her own troubled son and according to these authors anyway her advoidance of him when things got difficult. I suppose that is the trouble with a biography of a woman who had a very public face but kept her personal thoughts and letters very private, we do not really know about the inner struggles she may have experienced on her personal journey. Neverthe less Rowans' is a compelling story that makes you want to go out and smell the wild flowers in the remotest location possible.....

Telling Tales by Sara Maitland , Journeyman press, London, 1983

2010-06-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

These feminist tales kick you in the guts and make you sit up and take notice. They were full of gore and mayhem and murderous thoughts about males, doctors and mythical gods, witches, amazon warriors and women driven mad by men and housework. Riveting but only in small doses. ( Thats why I recieved so many overdue notices for this item from my library - I didn't want to return it until every last gruesome word was read......)

Au revoir my darling: an intimate war correspondence 1940-1945 by Heather Haughton, New Holland 2010

2010-06-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Heather Haughton's parents maintained an amazing bond with their letter writing throughout their seperation during world war 11. It was like eaves dropping on a private conversation, that was sometimes embarassingly intimate, sometimes boring except for the people involved and often voyeristically enthralling. Eileen and Ken ( the letter writers) appeared to deepen their relationship through their letter writing inspite of him being posted overseas as an optician during the war and inspite of the censor and the erattic mail service. They were well organised with numbering and secret codes to advoid the censor .The detail , although sometimes, tedious does give a fabulous insight into the sheer hard work that helped people survive the war. Eileen was a total workaholic. I often felt like lieing down ( if I wasn't already) , after hearing of the many tasks Eileen got through in her day running a chook farm, caring for two very young children and elderly invalid relatives as well as continually expanding , building and laying down more plans for the future. There was no shirking of duty here. Even the 2 year old was expected to do her part. You wonder if like many women during that time Eileen was allowed to thrive because their was no man around , although you get the feeling that if the war couldn't stop her then her husband Ken would also have had no hope.

Under the Huang Jio Tree by Jane Carswell

2010-05-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Carswell uses the word passion a lot. She went to China to teach English for a year in search of her passsion. Married , with grown children living and working in New Zealand for most of her life, she had always felt a sense of not belonging. She wanted to live in China because she felt from a previous trip that the Chinese people had achieved that sense of belonging and home. You have to admire someone who goes to such lengths to find lifes meaning ( No it doesn't sound like a full packet of tim tams was going to help). Carswell probably reflects the yearnings that many well off westerners have. Travel writing can often be a reflection of a person's inner as well as outer journey. Carswells givers her readers an excellent insight into both her journeys. You feel you are reading her thoughts, while she tries to work out what she thinks and feels. Life is such a physical and mental struggle for so many people in China that they don't have time for such yearning. I very much admired this book and Carswell's attempts to capture and define her "passion". She actually gives a wonderful insight into the difficulties and joys of totally immersing youself in a foreign community. Her frustrations and delights were equally easy to picture. It made me wonder about the ideals of living and working over seas, in a country where most people are very poor. It is extremely hard and you know many of the people you are working with aspire for the life you so desire to escape from. It sounds very humbling but diffcult. Her final discussion of her spiritual journey choices on her return from China was a little surprising, because other than the occasional menition of her guilt about being sponsored by a Christian organisation , ( while harbouring very wavery thoughts about her own beliefs) and scurrying undercover at the first mention of the "C" word, the final chapter is really about the spiritual journey she chooses on her return. Perhaps we are meant to feel that this is a continuation but I am not sure that the China journey would have made any difference to her choices. It was great to read someone who is willing to reflect, write about and share both her internal and outer journeys with some humour and not too much intensity, (My stiff upper lip heritiage can only stand so much of the inner journey stuff before the cringe worthy factors rears its soul destroying cyncial head) but she seemed to have the balance pretty well right because I have picked up and continued to read and wanted to know that somewhere in the end she found her way home .

Water for elephants by Sara Gruen

2010-05-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

I guess you could call this an engaging and entertaining novel. It was a story I kind of enjoyed , although at times it seemed rather silly. Jacob accidently runs off to a circus ( after experiencing terrible trauma on the home front) just before completing his final exams as a vet. He meets very married Marlena ,the glamourous horse girl and star of the circus. She is married to awfully horrible psychopath , August, who is insanely jealous of her every move, but always insistent the show must go on. Jacob also becomes friends with Kinko or Walter the dwarf and another old guy called Camel who has become an invalid. The time is the 1930s so if you are not in the circus you are pretty well starving to death. The only way this circus has survived is because the owner, Uncle Al, has vulturistically waited for other circuses to die so he can pick up the acts on the cheap. Thats how Rose the crazy polish understanding elephant gets in on the act. Put all this together and you have a fairly enthralling story. The narrator is Jacob a very frustrated 90 year old living in a nursing home recalling his young adult years and still wanting to escape. The circus seems to be a place to either to escape to or from life's traumas. Rose the elephant was my favouite character. She had no hidden depths and just squashed things she didn't like ( and devoured those she did). Once you worked out how to communicate with her you were right ( that's probably true for most things in life really)

Books read on the run

2010-05-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

Ok I admit I have been travelling through various countysides trying to advoid my blog, but I have not managed to advoid reading. I cannot resist the urge to lie down with a good book no matter where I am, and of course the further afield you travel the more opportunities there is to find different book shops ( and different beds to read upon).
The temptation to buy books in a langauge that I cannot read was often overwhelming, so don't be surprised if in some long distance future I attempt to read a wonderful foreign classic in the language in which it was intended to be read. Then again this feeling will probably wear off as I hit the normal ground, with a back to earth ,get on with your life, thud ..any way here a few books read while on the road.

Sophie's Bakery for the broken hearted by Lolly Winston ( Is this author's name for real?) This was a very light book read in the frantic rush of holiday and 21st birthday preparation. I can barely remember what it was about - so it obvioulsy had a big impact. I do remember it to be an amusing distraction when I needed it.

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. - Our book club choice for this month because of Mr Salinger's recent passing. Having read this book as a very impressionable teenager , I was surprsed at how much this book moved me again and how sad it was to realise after all these years that Holden was suffering some sort of breakdown because of the death of his brother among other things. He seemed to go to a series of very horrible schools where he believed everyone was a phoney . Of course he is the epitomy of the rebel without a cause teenager. I loved the way his little sister was able to bring him into line... Sisters everywhere unite.

In Cold blood by Truman Capote. This was a gruesome holiday read, but rivetting never the less. What makes the criminal mind tick? Who were the victims? This award winning novel was based on a true story. Even though you know there is no happy ending you can't stop reading because you really need to know whether the two criminals involved in the brutal slaying of the Kansas farm family, had any justification for doing it what so ever. The questions do they deserve the death penalty? - and will they get it?, kept me glued to my train seat for endless European kilometres. These questions were even more poignant in the context of visiting some of Berlin's famous historic sights and the devastation, betrayal and brutality that went on there during various historic periods....

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy - bought this at the Jewish Memorial in Berlin ( Yippee I found an English language book). It was a very sad and quick read. It is a poem based on the story told to Jennifer Roy by her great aunt about survivung the Lodz Jewish ghetto in Poland. The girl , Sylvia was one of only 12 children to survive in the World war 11 ghetto, where hundred others were killed by German soldiers. The story is told through the eyes of the very young Sylvia. It is written in simple language. You are in the head of the young child. You feel her fear, hunger and unequivical love for her family. Her instinct for survival and faith in the possibility of a future were almost unbelievable in the dire circumstances of her young life.

"Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell is also written through the eyes of a child and also a book about survival but of a different kind. I bought this from the smallest book shop in London ( cardboard box on the bridge to the TATE gallery). David Mitchell had been reviewed that day in the London papers so, I was pleased to discover one of his books for only a couple of pounds. ( Books were noticeably much cheaper in England then in OZ) I was immediately sucked into his 1980's Thatcher land. The angst of the young teenage boy weighed down by British patriotism and family distress was heart breaking. His parents engage in a brittle pre divource standoff, while the Falklands war ignites in the background. His sister leaves home , his stutter breaks all restraints, he has to hide his love of poetry in case his manliness is questioned and he becomes an even bigger target than he already is for the local bully boys. Being shipped off to the Faulklands seemed a much easier option for 13 year old Jason, until tragedy hits the local community. Its the kind of books that makes you realise you never want to be a teenager again ( no matter how many hours they get to sleep..)

The Ousider by Albert Camus - another book bought from the smallest book shop. I chose it because it was thin; not too hard to carry home in the luggage and a friend of my son was telling me she had to study it at uni. I seemed to have a thing in these holidays for reading about young people living ( and dieing) through terrible trauma and someone ending up on death row. The Outsider fits into both categories . Meursault the "Hero" ( or villain depending on your persecptive of societal rules and regulations) gets himself into awful trouble because he doesn't cry at his mother's'funeral. He doesn't do what people expect and somehow gets labelled as evil ( admittedly after he committs a horrifically violent act). My other son asks if this book is about belonging ( Year12 theme). I have to think about it, but yes I think it is about belonging. "Meursault" was happy to drift along in his life and kind of do what was easiest without too much emotional attachment. The violent act he commits was fairly freakish and you wonder how easy it would be to get caught up in such circumtances . ( I thought grief and exhaustion might also have contributed to his lack of emotional connectedness but I am not sure that is what Camus was on about.) This would be a good one for book club discussion. Eventually I might work out what I think...

Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill

Husband purchased this one for holiday reading, but I snavelled it before he could open the first page. It is set in Communist Laos in 70s, post Vietnam war . Another murder, but a much more lighthearted approach as we follow the cyncial Coroner, Dr Siri, trying to solve the case of the entombed corpse , that really should have been investigated by the local rules obsessed career Captain. Siri has some very uncommunistic spiritual kinds of revelations that make this a delightful not too gruesome thriller. ( Just my level of blood and guts spliced with a little black humor.) I also loved the parallel story about the abducted Mortuary assistant's escape and journey through rural Laos , determined to return to his job and duty. Of course the best thing about this book is that it is set in the place where I want to visit next - Laos - a win win read for the end of the journey

Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson 1879

2010-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

I yearn to follow in Stevenson footprints. (Even with a recalcitrant donkey, a few scarey wolves and some grumpy peasants tagging along behind). It all sounds so simple, yet soul cleansing. He sets out on a 12 day journey sometime in the middle of the 19th century, across the French Cevannes. Although 12 days seems like a short time, he still manages to throw in reams of interesting tidbits about the local flora ( chestnut trees), religions and the wars that had been fought over it, (catholic versus protestant), the locals, catholic and potestant zealots alike, trying to convert him. He seemed to have time to reflect and write on the beauty of the night mixed in with tips on what to take. (He describes in detail his fleecy woollen lined sleeping bag that converts to a carryall and the mortyifying frustration of having to turf half the stuff he took on the first day.) He has wonderful tips for hurrying a donkey up.( This could be useful for the modern traveller trying to move along slow companions). The peasants thought he was pretty crazy , but were always pretty encouraging on his journey. All in all I feel as spiritually enlightened and cleansed as he obviously felt after completing his journey. ( Ok I guess I am not going to run out on a 12 day walk but I thought I might like to read a few more jounrey stories in the Century Travellers series.)

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson Allen & Unwin 2010

2010-03-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

Thoroughly enjoyable romance for seniors ( I probably qualify as one of those now) and juniors. ( on second thought I am still one of those also) Stiff upper lip Major Pettigrew falls for Pakistani shop keeper Mrs Ali and all hell seems to break lose in the little village where they live ( and love). Well as much as hell can break lose in a town where the highlight of the week is listening to the vicar's sermon. Inspite of lots of stereotypes being challenged and a few more being reinforced, this is a highly entertaining and amusing novel. Good old politically correct "moi' got a little worried about how Mrs Ali's relations were being described in the end, until I realised that Ms Simonson was not particlarly complimentary towards the very snooty and very white Major's relatives either, so basically we are getting alot of humor based on the presumptions we make about certain groups of people. Those pretty English medievil style villages with their lords and ex British army officers , pheasant shooting , old manors , nosey church ladies sound sweetly quaint and very horrifying. They surely can't really be like that can they ???

Slow Journeys;the pleasure of travelling by foot by Gillian Souter, Allen & Unwin 2009

2010-03-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Aahh The thrill of a long slow walk in a new place. It was almosts as pleasurable reading about it as doing it and a lot less muscle strain. For a book about something as energetic as walking, this was very laid back and delightful read . I loved all the references to the famous writers who have loved to walk and use walking as a time to reflect. ( This is probably better for the heart rate then just lying on your bed.) Souter has a few good tips about walking and lots of little antecdotes to make you think anyone could do it. I also like that she isn't big on carrying tents on her back. She likes to walk where she knows there will be somewhere solid to sleep. She even suggests that inspite of appearances, she and her husband do not spend all their time doing and writing about idyllic walks . Eventually even they do have to return to civilisation to make money and so they can walk in the manner to which she is has become accustomed. It makes me want to leap off my bed and walk somewhere... wait a minute I will just read another page..

the forest of Hands& teeth by Carrie Ryan

2010-03-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have decide I have developed a repugnant taste for blood, guts and futuristic gore in my old age. Mary is trapped in a village in a forest, which is surrounded by the unconsecrated - zombie like creatures who thrive on eating humans and thus turning them into more zombies. It is called the "Forest of hands and teeth" for a good reason. The forest can devour you if you set foot in it. If I was Mary, our heorine, I would want to stay well and truly at home, and just do what the no nonsense nuns who run the village tell me to. However Mary thinks there must be more to life, because of the stories her mum told her and so she secretly yearns for the world beyond. The nuns, keep a very tight reign on everthing that happens in the village, including who marries who. ( I wonder what religion this is based on!!!! ) They have indoctrinated their flock into believing that if they step one foot wrong they will be over run by the very creepy neighbours. ( It sounds like Australia's immigration policy) . Mary basically has a very severe case of the grass is greener.. except when looking at the fence all you can see are these scary creatures. When the creepy neighbours finally break down the fences Mary has no choice but to flee the village and find out what is out there. I am sure there is lots of underlying stuff in this book about religious mind control, exploring new territories and breaking the boundaries, but basically it is a pacey fantasy /horror/scifi thriller that has you biting your nails as you turn the pages, looking over your shoulder wondering if the unconsecreated dead are out to get you.......

Black like me by John Howard Griffin ( 1977)

2010-03-15T02:43:00.000-07:00

In the late 1950s John Howard Griffin disguises himself as a black man to find out whether the Southern states of America are as really racist as northerners make them out to be. He discovers that yes they are are and that it is a very disturbing, frightening and demoralising basically to be treated like crap all the time. The book was a disturbing sensation at the time, and basically still is.

Flood by Stephen baxter

2010-03-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

I was floating around Queensland last weekend trying to finish this book ( among other things). There is really only one word to describe it and that's

" wet". The whole thing took on a surreal quality as 80 percent of Queensland succumbed to flood waters and I felt like I was somehow living the book. I kept wanting to refer to it in conversation like it was something I saw on the news. You wonder if Stephen Baxter's tale of the world being swamped by floods and rising tide from the year 2016 doesn't seem so far fetched. Drought breaking storms in my own little country town also had you thinking. How easy would it be for us all to go under... Inspite of all the rain I unfortunately had a bit of trouble staying engaged with the book as we ( readers) are swept from one part of the world to another following the very soggy paths of 5 people who had been held hostage together in Spain in the early 2st centruy. They made a committment to look out for each other always, which of course becomes increasingly difficult as every thing becomes so wet. The flooding part actually seemed quite believable, unfortuately the characters were not so engaging so I couldn't have cared less if they all got washed away. I kept readng though because I wandered where it was all going to end and of course the problem is it ends with the dreaded sequal. They are all still floating about somewhere waiting for you the reader to come along and throw them a few life buoys,. not sure I will bother . ( I loved Margaret Atwoods flood a lot more and no one seemed to get wet in that....)

Baghdad burning; girl blog from Iraq by Riverbend: Marion Boyars, 2005

2010-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

Riverbend's account of her life in IRAQ after the occupation of the country by the Americans post september 11 is very disturbing. This book is a compilation of her blog, describing her experiences and views on the war and the government set up by the Amercians to try and prop up the country. Reading her not quite daily blog ( there were too many interruptions of blackouts, bombings , feast days and family worries for her to blog everyday,) is heart wrenchingly tedious. Following the blog on line as written , would have been great, but in book form there is no escape from the tedium of the war and the wretchedness of what the Americans ( and others) have done to the country. Her point of view is enlightening though. Your heart pounds with anger as you read her account, of harrasment of Iraqi citizens by various militia groups, including the American; the difficulties of a government that has been imposed from above, forcing people who have no common ground to share leadership, without any real authority with the people; the difficulties of living a life where there is intermittent electricity , kids are too scared to go to school, women are no longer able to go to work. Life was definitely better before the American occupation according to riverbend. She seems to be saying the although there were problems before the Americans came, the different religious groups managed to live in harmony. The American s haved basically cocked things up ( as my darling husband would say) by establishing the government along religious lines.

I am not convinced a blog translates well into a book ( inspite of of the recent "Julia phenonemon), So you better hold back all book offers on this one. However Riverbend's blog and book are both great for providing an alternative point of view.

Love song by Alex Miller Allen & Unwin , 2009

2010-02-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

Someone said to me that this book seems like it was written by a woman. We get into the head of the Tunisian born heroine Sabiha, while she is living in Paris, married to an Australian man John. Sabiha yearns for a child, but for no obvious medical reason she and her husband cannot concieve. She longs to have a child and return to Tunisia with her ( she is sure the child will be a girl)to show her beloved elderly father. John is obsessed with returning to Australia but neither can seem to follow their dreams while they a playing the waiting game , running their little restaurant in Paris. I was totally absorbed by the story of Sabiha's desire for a child but eventually it seeps through that yes this is not a story written from a woman's perspective. It is told through the eyes of a man and we are undoubteldy getting the man's set on things. John is recounting the story to an Australian writer friend who is intrigued by the love story and the sadness that is in Sabiha's eyes. We also learn alot about the art of story telling and the idea of a story being a conversation between the writer and the reader.You know as a reader this is a man's conversation, this of course does not stop it from being a beautifully compelling story. However as a female reader on occasion I doubted the feelings that were ascribed to Sabiha , particularly in light of her decision to have an affair with Bruno to concieve the child. Her approach to the task did not ring true for me. Her obsession with the idea of the one female child waiting for her also did not seem true, because I was not sure a woman experiencing fertitility problems would be so narrowly focused on the outcomes of a much longed for pregnancy. That said the mystical nature of Sabiha's story was poetic and beautiful. The traditional African tale, inspiring Sabiha, about the woman killing the lion to protect her family, was poignant. Somehow the affair with Bruno spoiled the mystique. It suddenly became a man's version of events. Still I found the story delightful and a great relief from reading Bagdad Burning. ( see my next blog).

The year of the flood by Margaret Atwood Bloomsbury 2009

2010-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

I read a review of the movie based on Cormac McCarthy's book "The Road" that described it as yet another movie , where people move through a post apocalyptic landscape struggling to maintain some shred of humanity. ( ie the nice bits). I suppose something similar could be said of Atwood's book, but I just can't seem to get enough of her futuristic moral fables. I am always intrigued by the way she picks up bits and pieces of the current modern word, such as cloning, bio food , ozone layer destruction , multinational coportorations, religious cults, environmental guerillas and the western world preoccupuation with body perfection and twines them together and thrusts them into the future to make a scarily funny tale that is very believable. In this story we are following Ren and Toby, women who had at one stage of their lives lived with the underground Gardeners organisation , a group which was trying to get back to grassroots and reclaim the world as the garden of eden paradise it should be. You leap from their time with the Gardeners to the time in the future when they by sheer luck they escaped a deadly virus ( the dry flood), that pretty well got rid of the rest of humanity. Atwood highlights the human race's desire to make a perfect world based on science and the possible repercussion that our desires to keep advancing could have. She does it with so much humour though, that you don't come away with the bleak feeling you had after reading "The road" . You can believe that maybe things wont' turn out too badly ( even if we have to kill most of us off to get things right) and even a perfect human race can make you laugh ( with their overly active blue penises). Just so you all know, this book was quite thick also ( 450 pages)but I didn't flick to the back once to do the page count.......

Ransom by David Malouf

2010-02-04T01:46:00.001-08:00

Why is there a donkey on the front cover someone asked me today as I handed them a copy to read for a book club discussion. I had to think about it for a minute because the donkey was in fact pivotal to the plot but I didn't realise that until the cover was pointed out to me. The donkey was the key to the success of the journey in the story but as with any tale based on an ancient poem by a famous Greek oracle you wonder that maybe there is something more deep and meaningful then she just provided the transport. However Ransom is a simple tale and you can probably take from it anything you want at what ever level you want. I loved the surface picture of two men from vastly different backgrounds taking a journey together and learning about how the other half lives. I loved the idea of the simple story about shedding your outer facades so you can connect with the important things in life. Is it the wealthy king with numerous children he never sees or the working man who has only one gandchild left living that has the more fulilled life? I know there was a moral tale about how we live our lives, but in the end I just loved the poetic simpleness of the story about two men helping each other learn some basic truths about the best way to live your life. ( Plus there was a lot of other stuff about war and conflict and revenge and grief and about how blokes tend to cock things up alot).

It was a lovely story with the idea that it is a it is important to tell stories to help us understand how we live. The donkey actually is well worth following in the beautiful ( quick read) book.

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel forth estate

2010-01-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have decided books like this could be the answer to me keeping up with this blog. It is so thick and taking me so long to read I will hardly ever have to make any entries. I am enjoying it, all 651 pages, but whose counting. Well I am actually and I am worried about what that tells us either about the book or me as a reader . ( Maybe I am just a 200 page wonder) Never the less ( or more actually) I intend to keep going because Thomas Cromwell is an intriguing character atleast as created by Mantel. He had the whole of the English court, plus the church , plus his household, eating out of his hands in an amazingly deferential way. It would be a great book for any aspiring boss or politician to read. Cromwell can smooth talk his way into anything an heal plenty of rifts as he goes along. I have decided though being a member of the royal family or being evenly vaguely attached was a very exhausting and highly dangerous position to be in Henry the 8th's time . Cromwell, according to Mantel of course, has all the right moves for everyone. I am worried about how it all ends though, because you know that Henry gets very trigger happy with that guillotine,. ( I can't wait for the movie because atleast I will have read this book first)

I have finally finished the book and Cromwell kept his head (in this book anyway) so I am pleased because inspite of my catholic relatives telling me what an evil devil he was, I had grown very attached to him by the time I got to page 651.

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, 2002

2010-01-15T22:07:00.001-08:00

I told someone the other day that this was rather a silly book. The premise of the raped and murdered young teenage girl looking down from heaven after her death to see how everyone is coping with the grief , made my skin crawl right from when the book was first released. I didn't want to read it at all, but now with all the hype about the movie and a few sneak previews and invites to see the movie, I could not resist. I had to read the book. ( I am one of those people who live by the strict code that you can't see a book related movie unless you have read the book first) - yes it is rules like this that help me get through life successfully. I steeled myself for an emotional journey that would wring my tear buds to excess and destroy thousands of trees in shredded tissues in the process. Suzie watching her family cope after her murder, from an inbetween type of heaven was perfect to read while experiencing post Christmas withdrawl syndrome. The tears were just waiting to fall. Coping with Grief and loss, family and friends quirky characteristics, resolving the issues of the living as well as the dead were all flung together with a few thriller bits to make a wobbly emotional family drama upon which the reader could indulgently gorge themselves. ( In other words even though I was gagging at the end I couldn't put it down.) I would have liked a bit more of a revenge get the killer type of ending, but we were too busy working through the issues of grief and loss and how family and community deals with the horror of the murder to over indulge our revenge fantasies.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, 1999

2010-01-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

I think this was number 2 son's last year's Christmas present. Never been read. It could have been the female protagonist or just that he has moved on from near world fantasties, where as I seemed to have found them rather late in life and have decided I loved them. Although the quest for the poor heroine in this book, Sorcha, was rather gruesome and purely impossible to even vaguely relate to ( I would have given up on the first prickle no matter how many of my brothers had been changed to other forms by evil step mothers), it still had me glued to my bed in a pure fantasy effort to escape the drudges of Christmas shopping.

Diaries of Ethel Turner compiled by Phillippa Poole

2010-01-15T01:41:00.000-08:00

Ethel Turner was a party girl with a career. This seemed pretty unusual for the turn of the 20th century, but juggling social life, a family and a very successful writing career is something to be admired for a woman of any age. Her diaries are a wonderful record of a woman determined to make it all work and still look nice. Ethel had great business sense and her diaries showed that being a successful writer is as much in your negotiating skills as in the words you put on paper. As usual I am drawn to the daily lives of anyone, who can describe it in entertaining detail. Ethel Turner kept me amused to the very end.

Locked out stories: far from home by Alison Jean Lester Monsoon 2006

2009-12-08T02:04:00.001-08:00

The lonliness of the expat woman retold over again in different stories. Full of tingling pathos and longing. I am not sure I want to run off to the expat's life, but I could dive into Alison Jean Lesters, stories anytime. ( Ironically bought at Darwin airport as I was about to head back home)

How I live now by Meg Rosoff

2009-12-08T02:01:00.000-08:00

This is good old fashioned teenage end of the world stuff told from the first person perspective with a bit of cousinly incest, parent free child rearing and alternative gardening thrown in . War zone combined with getting back to your roots in a big old goofy house kind of stuff. Sounds like a strange combination but it seemed to work until parents reared their ugly heads again near the end and the storyline dissolved into confusion . Still it was nice , short and occasionally gruesome .What more could you want?

Cooking with Baz by Sean Dooley, 2009

2009-11-27T23:09:00.001-08:00

I was crying and laughing in the first chapter. A humourous cancer book is a bit of a trap, but I still managed to enjoy it. Sean's devotion to his dad, inspite of their differences was totally admirable and funny. His attempts to describe his brother Wok as someone who wasn't a total loser, failed. Eventually though sympathy takes over and you realise that with the trauma and grief , a little going off the rails diversion is pretty normal . Sean Dooley is at his best when he describes his dad's life as a drinker, bookie, good mate and lover of his mum. I loved the yarn ( yes yarn is the word because it is good old fashioned aussie kind of story telling) the most when Sean finally starts to see his dad and his mates as real people not just cardboard Caricatures. His father's dedication to cooking for his mum showed you the sheer determination and complex nature of the man that maybe you didn't get early in the story. It was a enjoyably funny tear jerker, ( if that's possible) but I might have to give the emotional extremities a rest for the next couple of reads. Too many tears falling into the laughter lines

Theunbearable lightness of scones by Alexander McCall Smith, 2009

2009-11-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Yes I still love Bertie. He has a hard life. He can't even join the boy scouts without his mother getting her knickers in an absolute knot and Olive sticking her nose in and bossing everyone about. Tofu is as tactless as ever. The children's world continues to be a very funny microcosmic view of real life, but with lots more honesty. The adult world at 44 Scotland street ticks over with predictive humour. Bruce is still totally uphimself and gets his just deserts but doesn't realise it. The coffee shop brigade are still solving the world's problems or atleast the local art ones. As well as trying to extricate themsleves ( and Big Lou in particular) from the crazy history nuts who are trying to over throw the British government ( or do they just want to wrestle with their pretend swords in the heather, hiding from their phantom foes.). The newlyweds have been through some very drastic honeymoon traumas, but still manage to make us smile with their obsession with the small things in life, ( like my new hubby is not going to be seen dead in that sweater ).All in all the Edinburgh lot are still just as engaging as ever

The Prime of Miss jean Brodie by Muriel Spark penguin 1965

2009-11-08T02:35:00.000-08:00

Miss Brodie was a manipulative self centred fascist, and like all good fascists she had no doubts that her way was the only true way to enlightenment for the young brood she decides to take under her wing in the school yard where she taught. She was nurturing these girls for their future roles in life and was certain how she wanted them all to end up even to the point of deciding who was the indecisive one that would never amount to anything. It is sad really because Miss Brodie did not count on these girls eventually wanting to go their own ways and refusing to fulfil her fantasies. The love stuff got very complicated and I think the girls in the end were all relieved to move on. The games of golf, afternoon tea and secret meetings to keep the school conservatives at bay were all just part of the fun but got tiresome in the end. Miss Brodie as she moves out of her prime no longer seemed infallible and some of the Creme del la crème girls realised that maybe her methods were corrupt .
I love the way these English writers explore people who are quaintly and ironically up them selves. Nothing seems too serious at first ...... but you have to watch out for the unplanned nasty endings....

Good to a fault by Marina Endicott allen& Unwin 2008

2009-11-08T02:33:00.000-08:00

When Insurance worker Clara crashes her car into a homeless family one lunch hour her life is very suddenly thrown lobsided. She rear ends these people into her life and can't let them go. This is a family drama I couldn’t really put down. Middle income people leading listless, half hearted kind of lives; not sure of their purpose; yearning form some spiritual meaning but finding church a bit pointless, all seemed scarily familiar . You know as Clara takes this very vulnerable family in; the mother dying from cancer still breastfeeding her youngest child; the dad just dying to escape, and the other two children unsure of where their loyalties should lie, but loving a roof over their heads; - that Clara is heading for emotional turmoil and heart break. Your heart leaps as she learns to look up the children and eventually love them, as she reconnects to her neighbours and her church and her own family so she can get help for the new one. Deep down you know it just can't work out and you feel wretched because of it. The question is really will Clara’s life be better because of the experience, no matter how dismal it all turns out - This listless spiritless, gutless reader wants to believe so.