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ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT: STEPHEN KING
Welcome to my first book review. I have two confessions to make up front. The first is that my greatest introversion-driven two-pronged aspiration has been, for over sixty years, to be a writer and to live in a ‘chambre de bonne’—a garret room with a view over Paris. There’s a picture of me somewhere on…
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Slaughterhouse-Five
—Kurt Vonnegut When I first read this novel, back when I didn’t have grey hair, it was marketed as ‘a classic of Science Fiction’. I read it because I liked science fiction, without really understanding the context of the novella, and was bitterly disappointed. Stephen King, I will point out, was also marketed as ‘Science…
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THE WHITE GIRL By Tony Birch
The story revolves around Aboriginal Odette Brown, a resident of the fictitious town of Deane since childhood. Deane could be in western NSW or Queensland or maybe Victoria. The only clue readers get is that it has a river which has dried up because of the activity of white people.
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THE VENICE HOTEL by Tess Woods
I was excited about reading this book, because I was actually in Venice at the time in which it is set, in the Christmas-New Year period in 2019, just before the World locked down. The stress about cruise ships damaging the delicate city was palpable. I bought the book at Brisbane Airport to read on…
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SORROW AND BLISS By Meg Mason.
New Zealand wtiter, Meg Mason, strikes a chord in my heart, because she captures brilliantly that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb. The main character, Martha Friel is 40, the writer of a “funny food column” that, once her editor has cut out all the jokes, is – as she sardonically acknowledges –…
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WEYWARD BY EMILIA HART
It’s as if this book, from an Australian author, with its three distinct storylines, should be in an emerging new genre labelled ‘witch lit’—a spin-off from the perky ‘chick lit’ scene rather than the fantasy genre which incorporates other recent releases such as Kirsty Logan’s ‘Now She is Witch’, Margaret Meyer’s ‘The Witching Trade’ and…
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BOOK JUST READ: THE MINISTRY OF TIME ; Kaliane Bradley
Billed as “speculative fiction”, it is perhaps more cheering to think of this novel, as 50% sci-fi thriller, and 50% romcom. Ok, I don’t normally read romcom—it’s trite and formulaic— but this is sort of along the lines of ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ which was devourable, crossed with the ‘Hunger Games’. It does bog down…
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THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT: MAGGIE O’FARRELL
GENRE: HISTORIC FICTION. Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler…
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SKIPPY DIES: PAUL MURRAY
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION/SATIRE Paul Murray is a master of tragic-comedic satire. You laugh heartily, but a dark heart beats beneath the humour. I love this book at the same time as I am absolutely revolted by some of the characters. ‘Skippy’ is Daniel “Skippy” Juster, so nicknamed because of his unfortunate resemblance to a certain TV…
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A MAN CALLED OVE: FREDRIK BACKMAN
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION EXPLORING THEMES OF MEMORY, GRIEF LOVE AND LOYALTY This book, originally written in Swedish, could be set in any town where people live in housing estates. It’s about a 59-year-old curmudgeon (I’ve always wanted to use that word) who lives in a housing estate and hates deviation from routine and people who…
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THE CRIMSON THREAD: KATE FORSYTH
GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION About a quarter to midnight on New Year’s Eve, I finished reading this tapestry of myth, mystery, fantasy and historical events by Kate Forsyth. Other books of Forsyth’s, such as Bitter Greens, are also based on fairytales Her superpowers include meticulous research (adds authenticity), attention to detail and what editors call ‘head-hopping’. I…
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THE BURNT COUNTRY: JOY RHOADES
GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION My friend, Margie, gave me this fabulous book when I was leaving Ivanhoe. It is the story of Kate, a grazier somewhere in the New England, after World War II. The poor bitch has to deal with every bloody prejudice you can imagine: Her husband wants a divorce so he can marry…
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THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART: MOLLY RINGLAND
GENRE: FAMILY SAGA/AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION They shouldn’t sell this book at airports! It was a mistake to read this book on back-to-back long-haul flights and in airports because I ugly-cried and I said things like, ‘Oh No!’ out loud, attracting concerned looks from the physically perfect young Danish man sitting next to me. And I…
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TERRY PRATCHETT — A LIFE WITH FOOTNOTES: ROB WILKINS
GENRE: BIOGRAPHY I was devastated to read that Book Face, an amazing bookshop at Springfield (A suburb of Ipswich, Qld just down the road aways) had closed —- almost as devastated as I was in 2015 to hear of the final ’embuggerance’ of the irrepressible mind of Terry Pratchett OBE. Having read this artfully written…
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THE BEE STING: PAUL MURRAY
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY LITERARY FICTION The Bee Sting would have to be one of my all-time favourite novels. It’s a poignant and unflinching portrayal of a family—the Barneses— in turmoil. They reside in a small town in Ireland during a time of financial chaos and against a background of climate change and environmental stress. It delves into…
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AND MRS ARBUTHNOT: PATRICIA FINEBERG STONER
GENRE: ROMCOM (?)/SATIRE And Mrs Arbuthnot is at first glance, fluffy-light, whimsical and possibly based on Oscar Wilde’s character of the same name. It’s presented as a volume of twelve connected short stories about a difficult and temperamental woman and her interactions with the community of Gorehampton in West Sussex, and the frustrations of modern living.…
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HERE ONE MOMENT: LIANE MORIARTY
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION I read ‘Here One Moment’ in about three days, even though the early stages of it were quite heavy-going and could perhaps, have been more concise. Stick with it and the rewards will be worthwhile. It’s a departure from Moriarty’s usual chick-lit format but still showcases her excellent character-development talent with a…
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BURIAL RITES: HANNAH KENT
GENRE : HISTORICAL FICTION In 1829, the last public execution in Iceland took place (you can still see the specially commissioned axe in the National Museum in Reykjavik). A man and a woman were beheaded for a murder committed on a remote farm. There being no prisons in Iceland, the condemned woman, Agnes Magnusdottir (great…
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THE LOVED ONE: EVELYN WAUGH
GENRE: SATIRICAL COMEDY It was through reading this book published in 1948 that I learned of the existence of and sheer power of satire to engage the brain in a tug-o-war between laughing and observing conventions. Double entendre entered my naive farmgirl world, as did euphemisms, the concept of a love triangle and juxtaposition. Thanks…
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RETURN OF THE NATIVE: THOMAS HARDY
GENRE: CLASSIC TRAGIC BRITISH LITERATURE This book was a so-called classic— one of the books they ‘make you read’ at school that everybody loves to hate. I, however, loved it. I recently reread it because I couldn’t remember why and became lost in the description of the bleakness of Egdon Heath, which was in itself…
Margaret R Kelly 