CLAURENE: "CHASING SHADOWS, LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER ROEBUCK"
BY TIM LANE AND ELLIOT CARTLEDGE
This book is about the well known cricketer, Peter Roebuck. Claurene said it was an awful, dreadful book. It was badly written and after reading only 82 pages decided to read another book called
ELISABETH MURDOCH, two lives by JOHN MONKS. It is the biography of Elisabeth Murdoch following her life from the time she married Keith Murdoch when he was 43 and she was 19. Their son is Rupert Murdoch. The book paints a vivid picture of another age in Melbourne. Elisabeth did a lot of charity work when her husband died. There are many photographs in the book and Claurene found it very interesting. She enjoyed the book very much.
WENDY: " NATURAL WAY OF THINGS" BY CHARLOTTE WOOD
This is Charlotte Wood's fifth novel. The story revolves around ten young women imprisoned in a remote location. The link between them all is that they have been involved in a sex scandal. The females bear the shame but not the men involved. It's loosely based on a true story of girls from a Parramatta girls' home taken to a prison farm where they were brutally treated. Two of the girls are the heroines of the novel but the other characters don't really develop. There is a regime of harshness, degradation and humiliation on the prison farm. There is a theme of misogyny. The ending was fantastic as it was left open. Wendy found the story very engaging and compelling.
PAULINE: "A STRANGENESS IN MY MIND" BY ORHAN PAMUK
The author is a Nobel Prize winning author. This is his ninth novel. The main character is Mevlut Karatus a street vendor in Istanbul who sells boza, a fermented drink. The story spans about four decades from 1969. It covers his childhood, his marriage and the many changes in the development of Istanbul during that time. A lot of old buildings were knocked down to cope with the great increase in population. Pauline said it was worth reading. The writing was good and it was very interesting, although rather long at 585 pages. Pauline also read Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood but did not enjoy it as much as Wendy.
ED: "THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE" BY AUDREY NIFFENEGGER
Ed wasn't sure she was going to like it. The main character has a genetic problem. He keeps disappearing and turning up in a different era. He meets Clare when she's a child and he's an adult but they meet again when they are closer in age. It's a love story. He keeps getting into scrapes. He always turns up naked in a different era. Ed said it was a bit strange but she enjoyed it.
BEV: "BLUE LIGHTNING" BY ANN CLEAVES
Bev said it was a nice little detective story. She read it all in one day. The detective, Perez visits an island off the coast of Britain which is accessible only by boat. There are no telephones on the island. The island is used for research on birds. The woman in charge of the sanctuary is murdered. The detective has to discover who killed her. Bev enjoyed the book.
CONNIE: "IN THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS" BY LIZ BYRSKI
The story is set in London at the end of the war. London is being bombed. Two little girls meet. One girl is six and the other seven. It's presumed the parents were killed so they are carted off by ship to Australia with a lot of other boys and girls. They held hands and became the best of friends. They are taken to a convent in Western Australia where they were treated very harshly. At 16 they leave the convent and are sent to a hotel in Margaret River to work as kitchen hands. They are happy enough and around 19-20 one of the girl's marries a well off fellow. The other girls steals her friend's husband. Connie enjoyed the book but will leave the ending for you to enjoy. She enjoyed the descriptions of the Margaret River.
DI: "FLESH WOUNDS" BY RICHARD GLOVER
Di found the story mindboggling. She is only about half way through. Richard Glover is a radio presenter on the ABC and this story is about Richard's family. Richard's mother was deluded, living in the past and his father was an alcoholic. His mother said she was upper class, part of the British Raj but she actually came from a two up, two down family. Richard gets posted to England as a European correspondent. He goes into class consciousness in Britain in this book. There are a lot of serious and very sad parts but also many "laugh out loud" funny bits. One is where he takes Deborah, his current partner to meet his mother and his stepfather. His stepfather is in the nude and remains that way as he serves drinks. Di said it's brilliant.
JUDY G: "THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN" BY PAULA HAWKINS
This was a New York Times bestseller. Three narrators tell the story. It's a psycho thriller. All characters are awful but the book does grab you. The main character travels by train everyday but she's lost her job due to alcoholism. She doesn't want to tell her flatmate so she sits on the train everyday as if she is still going to work. Whilst on the train she drinks and imagines stories about the people in the houses she passes - looking from the outside in. Judy said she picked the villain quite early. She said it was an excellent book.
ANNE: "THE RECKONING" A Memoir by MAGDA SZUBANSKI
This memoir was written as Magda felt, with all her success, her inner turmoil came as a shock. Magda was trying to understand her father. Her father was a Polish assassin. He killed German collaborators during the war. Her father didn't talk about the war. Magda realized early that she was gay but she was terrified that someone would work it out. She did eventually tell her sister. Anne said the first half of the book was tedious but the second half was better. In the second half she goes to University and joins the feminist movement in the hope of meeting other women like herself. She tries drama but doesn't do well and someone says she should try comedy. She does and becomes successful.
DIANN: "LARGER THAN LIFE" BY JODIE PICOULT
This is a fictional story about a mother who could have been a truly brilliant scientist. She has a dream for her daughter but Alice loves animals and goes to live in Africa to care for wild animals. She comes across five massacred elephants and finds a calf still alive. She tries to take care of it with the help of a ranger. She walks the elephant back to camp. She looks for milk powder. She tries to reunite it with a herd but there are problems. Diann said she likes to learn something from the books she reads and enjoyed learning about elephants.
TAM: "SELDOM" A Memoir by DAWN RAE DOWNTON
The story is about Newfoundland and it is from the perspective of Dawn's mother, Marion and life growing up on an isolated island called Little Bay Island. It's set from 1900's to 1950's. It's very isolated and cut off from the rest of the world for about six months. The main occupation for the men was sealing and fishing. The women were left on their own for long periods and had to be tough and resourceful. The main focus of the story was the grandmother, Ethel who was a schoolteacher. She married a nasty, jealous, sadistic man who beat his wife and children. He was not educated and jealous of his wife. He was lazy and Ethel waited on him hand and foot. The family tree at the front of the book and the maps made it a bit easier to follow. Tam said it was not a bad read, very interesting but a bit hard going.
JULIA: "A COLD CASE" BY PHILIP GOUREVITCH
This is a true crime story written by Philip Gourevitch who worked for the New York Times. It's the story of a detective who decides to find Frankie Koehler who had killed two men nearly thirty years ago. He had never been found. Julia said it was gripping and a really good read.
MEL: "TRAGEDY: SAD BALLAD OF THE GIBB BROTHERS" BY JEFF APTER
Mel chose this book because she enjoys reading about people's lives. The writing was a little rough in the beginning, a bit like being in the pub. Further on the style improved. The parents of the Gibb brothers moved to Australia but the Bee Gees were not really taken on by the Australian people so they went back to England. They became famous in England. Three of the brothers have passed away in tragic circumstances. They were too young. The pictures gave you a graphic view. Mel enjoyed it and would recommend the book.
LAURA: " JUMPING THE QUEUE" BY MARY WESLEY
This book was published in 1983. It is is set in Cornwall, England. It is about a widow who lives alone except for a goose. She is getting rid of everything including the goose. She is in her 60's and is going to commit suicide. She is estranged from her kids and her husband has died. She is thwarted in her attempt to commit suicide and has a reprieve. The goose (gander) comes back. Laura found it a very interesting, thought provoking story.
PAMELA: "KISMET: THE STORY OF GALLIPOLI POWS" BY JENNIFER LAWLESS
This is the story of what happened to the prisoners of war at Gallipoli. Six Australians were captured the first day of landing. Out of 67 captured POWs 24 died of wounds, malaria and spanish flu. The Turks were worried about the remainder so they were taken to Istanbul. It is the story of what happened to the men. They had funny ideas about the Turks and were very fearful but they were actually treated very well. They were well housed and often ate better than the Turks. The Turks had a culture of hospitality. Pamela found it very interesting and well documented.
SHEILA: "A DOG'S LIFE" BY MARTIN CLUNES
Martin Clunes wasn't very cluey about dogs but had to learn it all. He had two cocker spaniels, Mary and Tina and Arthur, the black labrador. They are always fighting for dominance and he has to learn about hierarchy. He sends the dogs to therapy as he has no idea of animal behaviour. Martin decides to learn about the social evolution of dogs, from wild animals to domestic animals. Sheila said "if you are interested in dogs and want a light book - it's a good book to read".
GAI: "SALVATION CREEK" BY SUSAN DUNCAN
Gai said it was well written and had light and shade. It is the true story of how Susan, a journalist, manages her life after losing both her husband and brother within three days of each other. The book is set in Pittwater and Gai felt it was all a bit familiar. The characters are very Australian with an Australian voice and perhaps too much swearing. Susan lives on Scotland Island in Dorothea Mackellar's old house. You can only get there by boat. Gai loved this book.
JO: "ALL DRESSED IN WHITE" BY MARY HIGGINS CLARKE
Our avid reader, Jo read eight books but she chose to talk about All Dressed in White. Laurie Moran investigates cold cases for her television series, Under Suspicion. Five years after a woman goes missing on her wedding day, Laurie decides to recreate the scene. As the woman went missing just before her wedding, the wedding party are asked to come back to recreate the scene. After she went missing, her husband-to-be married her closest friend making them both suspects.
JOAN: "MY BRILLIANT FRIEND" BY ELENA FERANTE
This is the story of two intelligent girls, the dazzling Lila and the dutiful Elena. The story is set in the 1950's in the slums of Naples. It is a depiction of womanhood and friendship but also of Italian society and politics. Joan said it is not like anything she has ever read. She said her writing gets you in and she couldn't wait to get the next book.
ROSEMARIE: "THE SECRET SPEECH" BY TOM ROB SMITH
This is the second novel in the trilogy by British author Tom Rob Smith. Rosemarie read the first one, Child 44. Rosemarie is only half way through the The Secret Speech but said it was not as good as the first book. It is set in Russia and once again, Leo Demidov, former KGB and now head of Homicide squad is the main character.
PAT: "GO SET A WATCHMAN" BY HARPER LEE
Pat said it was a bit ordinary. She said nothing really happened. It was set in the deep south of America and the characters were the same but many years later. Pat said it was written in the same style as her famous book To Kill a Mockingbird. She felt it should have been left alone. She tried to persevere but didn't finish.
We have our very own author in the bookclub, Laura Rittenhouse. She has just published her third book called "Confessions of an Aging Adulterer". It's a very intriguing title.
FOR NEXT MONTH'S BOOKCLUB MEETING WE ARE READING GHOST STORIES
Kris
