Tuesday, July 22, 2025

JULY 2025 BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR KATE GRENVILLE OR CHARLOTTE WOOD

 

This month we had a choice to read books by either Kate Grenville or Charlotte Wood.

KATE GRENVILLE

Kate Grenville is a prominent Australian author, born in 1950 and well known for her historical fiction set in Australia. Some of her novels have been made into movies and television series.

 

ED:  THE CASE AGAINST FRAGRANCE

Ed found some of it a bit boring, especially the discussion of different chemicals.  She did not finish the book.

JO:  THE SECRET RIVER

Jo said it was interesting.  The Aboriginal people were treated badly.  There were massacres and a lot of people did not know.  She said it was okay, but she found it hard to get through.

JUDY D:   SEARCHING FOR THE SECRET RIVER

Judy said it was interesting how she got the information to write a book.  She didn’t know if she wanted to write a novel or a history book.  Judy found it very dull and boring. 

KERRIE:   UNSETTLED

This was written 20 years after The Secret River. It’s Kate’s personal story on how to go about writing a historical novel. She enjoyed the Secret River but found the information unsettling and disturbing.  20 years later and she’s still unsettled. Even the words used at the time “taking up land” when they were just taking it from the Aboriginals.  Kerry found it a very good book but also found it unsettling.  She felt a connection as her relative was Solomon Wiseman.

JUDY A:   IDEA OF PERFECTION

Judy read it 23 years ago.  It is one of her top 20 books and she said it holds up well.  It’s about two misfits who find each other.  One is a shy engineer who is employed to demolish a dilapidated bridge in a small country town. The other is a plain female museum curator who has come to town to start a heritage museum.  The third character is Felicity, the wife of the local bank manager.  She believes she is a cut above everyone else.  This book celebrates ordinary people.

MARGARET:  She read the same book.  It was a favourite in a family book club. Everyone loved it. Margaret’s father was a building and bridge inspector, so it reminds her of her father.  She would recommend this to anyone as it is a beautiful and funny book.

ONE LIFE – MY MOTHER’S STORY

HELEN:  This is a story by Kate Grenville about her mother Nance.  Her mother was born in 1912.  She was an inspirational mother and teacher.  When she died, she left behind fragments of a memoir.  It was a century of tumult and change.  It also echoes countless lives of women of her times, a time when most women had no ambitions beyond the domestic.  This is a deeply moving homage to her mother.  Kate said her mother was very supportive of her when she began to write.

THE RESTLESS DOLLY MAUNDER

LESLEY:  Dolly was Kate Grenville’s grandmother and Nance’s mother. This story is based on memories and recollections of snippets of country NSW as the 6th of 7 children.  Life on the land was tough, and her father was tough. Her mother was worn out and subservient. She wasn’t shown love or cuddles.  Dolly wanted to be a teacher, but her father said she just had to help on the farm.  She married an itinerant worker, had three children.  Her husband was easy going.  She had to push him to move Sydney.  With some financial help they started a corner shop and did well. They went into various businesses but during the depression lost it all and decided to go back to the country. Then she moved back to Sydney as she wanted her children to be well educated.   Dolly was a force of nature, driven, restless, frustrated with women’s place in society.  It was a strong line of women, Dolly, Nance and then Kate.  Lesley enjoyed this book.

A ROOM MADE  OF LEAVES

LYN: This is a story about Elizabeth Macarthur, John Macarthur’s wife. John was a wealthy and corrupt early pioneer of the Australian wool industry. Lyn said it was well researched.  Kate Grenville found memoirs of Macarthur’s wife. She weaves fact and fiction well.  Lyn did not read it all but enjoyed what she has read.

THE LIEUTENANT

KELLY:  It’s the story of an English marine who is injured during his duties in the Navy. He becomes an astronomer. He has an opportunity to come to Australia on half pay.  He was asked to go out to look for food because of his knowledge of astronomy.  He was asked could he do something about the assaults on three aboriginal women, but he felt he didn’t have the power to intervene. Kelly said it was a bit boring.

BEV:  She also read this book.  Daniel Dawes is the main character.  He gets a scholarship. Other kids seem to have more money than brains.  He doesn’t fit in.  He is interested in astronomy and is good at maths. He is helped by a professor to go on the 1st Fleet where he sets up an observatory.   There are copious descriptions that go on and on.  He befriended an aboriginal girl who taught him the language. He had an affinity with the aboriginal people but could not cope with their treatment.  He would retreat to his observatory.  He was sent home in disgrace.  Bev enjoyed the first part but not the second part.

PRUE:  She also read this book.  She loved it as she is very interested in the languages. Daniel Dawes was out of step with the world.  He developed a love of astronomy.  He was sent to Australia on the 1st Fleet. He was there to observe a comet, but he found the treatment of the aboriginal people difficult. He was torn between his moral duty and his duty as a lieutenant.  In England a lieutenant was hung because of his behaviour.  Prue said Kate Grenville was a beautiful writer, and the book was easy to read.  She will read the third one in the trilogy.

 

CHARLOTTE WOOD is also an acclaimed Australian author. She was born in 1965 and is well known for her original and thought-provoking novels. She is the author of 7 novels and 3 non fiction novels.

THE CHILDREN (Pub 2007)

JOAN:  This story is set in Australian country town in 2006 when a father of the household falls off the roof of his home.  He ends up in intensive care on life support.  His wife is Margaret.  The adult children are called to his bedside for a seven day vigil and it is the family interactions that flow through with a tragic end.  The characters are either bland or grossly annoying.  The storyline is bleak and it seems like childhood is something we never escape from.  Joan did not find it worthwhile to read.

STONEYARD DEVOTION

ROSEMARY:  The narrator is an unmarried, presumably middle aged woman, who abandons her marriage, her career as a conservation specialist, and her life to join the nuns at a convent in rural NSW, the town of her childhood, despite having no religious affinity. She is escaping her life which is overwhelming, as the world deals with the pandemic. She gradually adapts to the far gentler rhythms of monastic life in their own little bubble. She reflects on her life, her family and friends and guilt she feels. Rosemary said it was a slow moving book with no real plot.

EVERYWHERE I LOOK BY HELEN GARNER (PUB 2016)

JUDY J:  This is a collection of essays, diary entries and true stories spanning more than 15 years of the work of one of Australia’s greatest writers. Helen Garner takes us from backstage at the ballet to the trial of a woman for infanticide, from the significance of moving house to the pleasure of re reading Pride and Prejudice.  The collection includes her famous and controversial essay on the insults of age, thoughts on loneliness and dying.  This is her moving tribute to her mother, and the story of her joy in discovering the ukulele.  It is a multifaceted and profound portrait of life.  It glows with insight and wisdom.  There are 28 stories of different lengths.  They are written so beautifully, and you want to keep reading on to the next one.



Kris


AUGUST:   We will be reading one of 2 books from the Library Kits

                 The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai or Remarkably                     Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt


Please email Rosemary to arrange a pick up, if you do not have a book yet and then return to Rosemary at our next book club meeting in August.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

JUNE 2025: BOOKS BY AGATHA CHRISTIE OR RAYMOND CHANDLER

 

The works of Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie were up for discussion at our June meeting. There's always plenty of interesting discussions to be had which makes for an enjoyable get together.

ROSEMARY - Some fun and interesting facts about both writers. A.C. published 6 non crime novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. She learned to surf and became one of the 1st Britons to ride a surf board. During WW1 Agatha worked as a dispenser, giving her extensive knowledge of poisons. Hercule Poirot is the only fictional character to receive an Obituary in the New York Times. R.C. didn't publish his 1st novel until he was 50. He worked as a screen writer and worked with Alfred Hitchcock. He often complained how his works were adapted for film. Raymond is credited as transforming the detective genre, making it more realistic, worldly and grittier.  

KRIS - They Came to Baghdad - Agatha Christie. 1951. A superpower summit, the President will attend, an underground organization planning to sabotage the talks, a friend in danger. This situation collides with a young woman, Victoria, bored, looking for excitement and travel arriving in Baghdad. A wounded Agent dies in her room and Victoria needs all her resourcefulness to deal with the situation. Kris enjoyed the fast moving story.

PRU - The Big Sleep - 1939. Raymond Chandler. 1st novel to feature  Philip Marlowe PI. Marlowe is hired by a millionaire to handle a blackmailer. Many complications occur. Marlowe appears as  hard drinking, tough and sharply spoken but underneath is morally upright and a man of honour. He's trying to act ethically and improve the Los Angelese of the 1930's. Racism, sexism and casual violence - a book of its time. Pru thought it was fun to read but prefers the gentle English crime of Agatha Christie.

VAL - The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler 1953 .  Many character, beautiful women, lengthy descriptions, thoroughly enjoyable.

PAMELA - Farewell my Lovelies - Raymond Chandler - 1940. Classically educated, Chandler's writing shows great craft and clever use of language. He became the head of the Crime Writers Association.

JUDY De - Death in the Clouds - Agatha Christie. 1935.A death on a plane, many clues including a wasp. Hercule Poirot solves it.

HELEN - Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie. 1930.  First book in the Miss Marple series, set in St Mary's Mead. Reverend narrates, many characters, very good descriptions. Helen enjoyed the language but not the plot - too convoluted.

JOAN - Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie. 1934. A murder, 12 suspects on a train that is stuck in the snow. 12 stab wounds. Hercule solves the case with 2 options. Visually beautiful,  the plot was OK.

JO - Murder is Easy - Agatha Christie. 1939. 5 dead people, a woman rejected by her lover, many suspects. Jo loved it.

MARGARET - Murder on the Orient Express. Agatha Christie. 1934. The Language, the conversations, the assumptions. So good.

LYN - Crooked House. Agatha Christie. 1949. Another in the nursery rhyme series. Agatha waited until she had plenty of time to write as she wanted to enjoy the process of writing this book.  A large house, members of the family all living together, fabulously wealthy, Grandfather insisted all the family remain on the estate. Grandfather is murdered with barbiturates. Many options for potential suspects. Lyn thoroughly enjoyed the twists, turns and the unexpected ending.

PAT - Peril at End House. Agatha Christie. 1932. Hercule on holiday, accidently meets a woman who had already 3 attempts on her life in the previous 3 days. Whilst she was dismissive of the danger she faced, Hercule takes on the case fearful of further murderous attempts. Concluding with the final (6th) murder attempt, many twists and turns, a surprising end, and a very vain Hercule - Pat thought the novel was OK.

BEV - Mrs McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie. 1952. A char lady is killed, a boarder is a suspect and found guilty. Sometime later Hercule thinks differently and solves a cold case.

LESLEY - A Pocket Full of Rye. Agatha Christie. 1953. Another Mother Goose rhyme used to create a crime story. A wealthy, corrupt businessman drops dead after drinking his morning cup of tea. Many suspects, Miss Marple invites herself into the household and ultimately solves the crime. Most of the characters unlikeable and the plot was implausible however Agatha Christie did know how to write an entertaining story.

 

Lesley 


JULYBooks by Kate Grenville or Charlotte Wood