April saw us reading books by Australian authors - and what a range from which to choose. Modern day authors and those from the past, crime, fiction and nonfiction genres, rural and city backgrounds, mysteries, thrillers, saga's and thought provoking narratives - our group always offer variety.
PRU - THE LOST JEWELS. Kirsty Manning 2020. Inspired by an actual jewellery theft in 1912 known as the 'The Cheapside Haul'. An historian researching this jewel theft realises there is a possible connection between her family ie her great grandmother and the jewellery crime. With 2 timelines throughout, events and different perspectives are provided, 1 from the time of the crime and the other from the present day. Details of jewellery styles, methods of production, social values, the culture of the time are all presented. Beautifully written, great descriptions but too long.
ROSEMARY - THE IN-BETWEEN. Christos Tsiolkas. 2023. A contemporary story, set around dinner party conversations, where 2 men delve into past relationships and contemplate whether they can find love again . Can they trust, let go of their pasts and look to a future together? Very thought provoking.
HELEN - STONEYARD DEVOTIONAL. Charlotte Wood. 2023. A woman abandons city life and moves into a small religious community, she leads a reclusive life and with more time she begins to reflect on her early life, her emotions and thoughts. A troubling visitor comes to the monastery and there's signs of change and disruption. A reflective and meditative read, written in a simple style.
JUDY A - MY BRILLIANT SISTER. Amy Brown. 2024. 3 vignettes - Ida, married to a university lecturer, is teaching her year 6 class Miles Franklin's novel "My Brilliant Career". Ida wonders about her life if she'd been a twin, became famous while the other lived in the shadows. Vignette 2 - Linda, early 1900's, is Miles sister. She muses what life has been like growing up with a famous sister and holds many resentments ( including a husband she doesn't love any more). V - 3 - modern day setting, a famous singer and only child named Stella is confined to home during the Covid Epidemic. She has a broken heart due a recent relationship fall out. She wonders what life would have been like if she'd had a twin. A clever book, well written but there were parts Judy didn't warm to.
BEV - YESTERDAY'S SHADOW. Jon Cleary 2001. Detective Scobie investigates 2 murders that happen in 1 night. Many twists, an old fashioned detective story. A good read.
JUDY J - OUTBACK. 2022. Patricia Wolf. Crime, thriller set in outback Queensland around Longreach. 2 German backpackers disappear. The portrayal of country towns, the local people, truckers, the police force etc very unflattering. Some very gruesome details of crime described. There are much better Australian authors.
ROSEMARY S - EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT. Benjamin Stevenson. 2023. 6 authors all on the Ghan and there's a crime. 5 Detectives all try to solve the crime. Far too many characters so was a confusing read with a number of silly events.
DIANN - BLACK SHEEP. Judy Nunn. 2023. A novel set across 3 generations of family - The Wakefields. Mostly set on a sheep station in Goulburn. A saga starting in 1878. Diann enjoyed the history in the novel.
EDE - TIRRA LIRRA BY THE RIVER - Jessica Anderson. 1978. Nora has spent most of her life trying to escape from the small town she grew up in, from her husband a mean and controlling man and from her mother-in-law. Eventually she divorces Colin and he gives her a small settlement. She does escape - to London, and becomes a successful dressmaker. The story is filled with her adventures, experiences and conversations. Easy to read but the time frame was confusing at times.
LYNN - PAPUA. Peter Watt. 2022. 2 men come to face each other during WW1, one an Australian Captain Jack Kelly. The other a POW, Paul Mann a high ranking German. An unexpected bond is formed. They return to civilian life after the war, both into very changed circumstances. Jack has a son born after he enlisted. Paul finds the Germany he returned to vastly different with an ambitious Adolf Hitler on the rise. He's worried about his future. The both decide to go to Papua, a land with supposedly rivers of gold but legendary cannibals. Lyn thought it a great read full of love, loyalty, family strength and friendship.
JOAN - KILLING FOR COUNTRY - A FAMILY STORY. David Marr. 2023. Nonfiction. Excellent early colonial history including the NATIVE POLICE FORCE and their role in the expansion and acquisition of land from 1848. Well documented.
KRIS - THE SPACE BETWEEN THE STARS. Indira Naidoo. 2022. A memoir recalling her childhood experiences in a fun and loving family. With the suddenness and unexpectedness of the death of her beloved sister rocking her world Indira used her grief and nature to help heal and deal with the loss. Kris loved it.
PAMELA - KILLING WOMEN: REWRITING DETECTIVE FICTION. Ed Delys Bird. 1993. Women rewriting crime with women as the lead. 6 women writers talk about how they see women portrayed in crime. What are the reasons for murder? Women writers face discrimination and gender bias both as writers as well as the victims of crime in their stories.
VAL - THE MYSTERY WRITER. Sulari Gentill. 2024. A highly improbable murderous crime is committed. A young women, an aspiring writer, tries to discover who murdered her (hopefully) new publisher. Quite tongue in cheek, very enjoyable and bright.
PAT - THE WHITE GIRL. Tony Birch. 2019. In a fictional outback town a 63 year old Indigenous woman raises her granddaughter whilst always on the lookout for welfare authorities who steal, and send to missions, indigenous children. At this time Indigenous adults were not allowed to leave town unless they had a permit. Historical fiction but based on many real life stories. Beautifully written.
TAM - A PASSIONATE LIFE. Ita Buttrose. 1998. Ita wanted to make things better for women. Always very feminine, extremely clever, very dignified and very strong whilst working in a man's world, she faced head on many challenges. A trailblazer and quite driven she took on a range of roles with great success. An insight into the world of journalism. Tam admires Ita's many qualities.
JO - BLOOD MOON. Garry Disher. 2009. A murder/crime thriller set in Victoria. A woman who is researching locals who violate land use laws is murdered. Who done it? A good read.
LESLEY - THE SEVEN. Chris Hammer. 2023. Crime, mystery set in rural Victoria where 7 old money families run the town. All have invested in previous times in irrigation projects to divert water from the Murray to their land holdings. A body is found at the weir, there's research quietly being done to see how water leases and land holdings had changed hands and benefited a certain few. Strong images of country towns and their quirks, the strength of family dynasties, the unspoken rules of keeping past secrets buried, the separation between the 'haves' ie the 7 families and the 'have nots'. An interesting story but some weakly drawn characters . Too many minor faces lead to confusion.
Next month, May, we are choosing to read a book by either Eddie Jacu, Richard Glover or Leigh Sales.
Lesley.
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