Di Morrissey is an Australian novelist, the author of 25 best selling novels and 5 children's books.
THE OPAL DESERT
Published in 2011
PAMELA: The story was in three different parts about three different women. Pamela read the first part and 4 pages of the second part. She didn't find much about opal mining and didn't like the book.
JUDY A: It's a story about three women whose lives intertwined. It was set in a town near Broken Hill. Judy found it a pleasant read and better than she had anticipated.
TEARS OF THE MOON
Published in 1995
SHEILA: This is a story about pearl diving. Sheila thought the subject was interesting and said the author had a real feel for Australia. It's a family saga. After the death of her mother, a young Sydney woman from a dysfunctional family decides to trace her family roots in the hope of understanding her mother. The story goes back to the pearling industry in Broome and the effects of WWI and WWII industry. The Japanese were interned. Sheila said the descriptions of pearling were magnificent and felt the author had done a lot of research.
BEV: Bev said it was better than she thought it would be and she said she liked it. She was expecting more soap opera. Lily, a young woman was wanting to find out her family history. Through this she learns about the pearl diving industry.
SILENT COUNTRY
Published in 2009
JUDY D: The story is about a television producer writing a story about a film crew who went to the outback 50 years ago. Judy said the story was better than she thought it would be and the descriptions of country, especially Kakadu and Coopers Creek were excellent.
THE PLANTATION
Published in 2010
CHARIS: The story is set in Malaysia and Australia. It's told in first person dialogue and Charis was totally irritated with the speech marks. The story is about a female marketing consultant who helps her mother when she is having her house demolished. She is given information that sends her on a search to find out about her Aunt and family in Malaysia. Charis said it was a good story.
VAL: It's a story about a young woman in the RAAF who is linked to another young woman who is looking into her past. The story from the past is about two sisters, one goes to Singapore and the other one, with a child is interned in Australia. Val felt pleasantly surprized and felt the story rang true. She said the author does a good job with her research.
KIMBERLEY SUN
Published in 2002
TAM: This is a follow up to Tears of the Moon, also set in Broome. Tam has read a lot of Di Morrissey and thinks they are a good holiday read. She seems to have a similar plot in all of her books. The settings are good and the descriptions spot on. She takes a lot of political and/or environment issues and weaves a story around them.
WHEN THE SINGING STOPS
Published in 1996
JO: The story is about a young Australian woman who travels to visit her brother in Guyana, South America. She finds a unique and beautiful culture being destroyed. Jo said there was a bit of everything in it - environmental issues, drug running, murder, family dynamics. She loved it and said it was very interesting but a bit too long.
ARCADIA
Published in 2018
PAT: It's about two young girls who grew up together. One moved to the city. There was no real story to it and it was super sweet. Pat found it humdrum.
DISTANT JOURNEY
Published in 2016
ROSEMARIE: There are no political or environment issues in this book. The story is about Cindy, who lives with her Aunt in America. She is about to go to university. She falls madly in love with an Australian grazier. They marry and return to the family property in western New South Wales. This is the story of their life together. Rosemarie said it wasn't a challenging read. It was an easy read but very bland.
DIANN: The story is about Cindy who goes to Palm Springs, USA to take care of her aunt's child as her aunt is trying to run a sewing business. The aunt had moved to get away as she was a battered wife. The aunt's sister comes out to Palm Springs later to do catering as well and the business begins to grow. When Cindy gets married to a grazier, the father in law doesn't think she is good enough for his son. Diann said it was a really good story.
ED: Ed said Cindy was heartbroken after an earlier romance. She meets Murray, an Australian on holidays in California. They have a whirlwind romance, get married and move to the sheep station in the Riverina district in Australia. Murray's father is very rude to Cindy. Cindy wants to find out more about Murray's mother who left when he was young but no one wants to talk about her. Ed enjoyed the book.
THE BAY
Published in 2001
JULIA: The Bay was once a whaling town and throughout the book there are two stories. The main story is about the Bay in the present and the people who live there. Alongside that there is a story told by a woman from the late 19th century who was married to a Norwegian whaler. They had made their home in the Bay and her experiences were recorded in the logbook she kept on their travels and during her life in the Bay. Julia loved the book and worked out where the Bay was very early in the book.
KRIS: The modern story begins with Holly, a 45 year old North Shore woman who is married to a ruthless businessman who makes her feel inadequate. With her children now at University she buys an old historic house in the Bay to renovate and to prove her capabilities to her family. There are a lot of different characters and stories, lost souls, alternative lifestylers, people starting new lives as well as the other main story of the whaling industry in the past. In the beginning it was a bit confusing but it was all drawn together at the end. It was a very good read.
THE LAST MILE HOME
Published in 1994
CONNIE: As this is one of Di Morrissey's early books, Connie felt she must become a better writer. It's about the daughter of a poor shearer who falls in love with the boss's son. They have a secret relationship and she falls pregnant. They go away together. There is a tragedy but a satisfactory ending. She then read a later book to compare. THE WINTER SEA is set in Italy before WWII. It's about a fisherman who joins the army and goes to war. After the war he goes to a place south of Wollongong and works as a fisherman. Another story is introduced from the present about a young woman who finds herself in a fishing village after her divorce. She meets the grandson of the original Italian fellow. Connie said there was a very good twist and a satisfactory ending. She feels she has now read enough of Di Morrissey.
THE RED COAST
Published 2017
LESLEY: It was an easy read. Lesley has read quite a few Di Morrissey books and said they were very formulaic. The backdrop is Broome in the early days of the pearling industry. She skims across issues, environment, aboriginal issues, government and big business in a superficial way. There was too much description of the countryside. Lesley said she enjoyed it but wouldn't read another.
RAIN MUSIC
Published in 2015
DI: The story begins with a brother and sister whose father has died. He is well thought of in the community and they commemorate him with a building. The brother goes north where he is a guitarist in the local pub. Then the sister wants him back for a reunion. About half way through Di lost interest. She said it was very superficial.
Kris
MAY BOOK CLUB: Books by Kazuo Ishiguro including Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, When we were Orphans and The Unconsoled.
JUNE BOOK CLUB: Comedy - choose your own
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