OCTOBER, 2022 - VARIOUS TITLES BY RUDYARD KIPLING

 Rudyard Kipling was born in British India in 1865 and died in London in 1936.  He was an English short-story writer, poet and novelist.  He is well known for his celebration of British imperialism and his stories and poems of British soldiers in India.  Living in British India inspired most of his writing, as well as his delight in human eccentricities and the animal world. He also wrote stories for children. His Just So Stories were written for his beloved daughter, Josephine.  The book was published in 1902  three years after she died from pneumonia.  In 1907 he received a Nobel Prize for literature.

SHEILA did not read a book but said she remembered her father carried a small book of Rudyard Kipling stories.

PAMELA read  SHORT STORIES.  

Most of the stories are set in Britain.  MRS BATHURST was very good.  It's a story told to men working in South Africa about an officer who fled with Mrs. Bathurst, a young widow.  It was considered ingenious.  Another is WAYSIDE COMEDY.  It's set on a station in India where everyone has to get on with each other.  It's very funny.  THE GARDENER  has to be read carefully.  Pamela said Rudyard Kipling is a sophisticated writer.

CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS

JUDY D ploughed through the book. Kipling wrote it as if he was the person speaking.  She had to go back regularly as it was difficult to read and understand.  The story was about a very spoiled young man who had a rich father.  He was on a cruise with his mother.  He's pushed overboard and presumed drowned.  It's mostly about fishing for cod in the ocean.  Judy found it boring.

ROSEMARY didn't finish.  The language was too difficult to get her head around. 

Rosemary also read JUST SO STORIES  and commented on the illustrations in the book done by Rudyard Kipling.  His father was an artist.  Each story was very short.  As it was Rosemary's own book she said it was lovely to reminisce. 

JUST SO STORIES

KRIS  read some of the stories including How the Leopard got his spots, How the Rhinoceros got his skin, How the Whale got his throat, the Elephant's child and the Cat that walked by himself.  The stories are whimsical, imaginative, eccentric and very clever.  They would delight most children of that era with stories of far away places and jungle creatures.  The language is extraordinary.  He told the stories to his daughter.  It is considered a classic of children's literature.

CONNIE  told us that Kipling sometimes changed the words when he read the book to his daughter.  When his daughter realised he had changed the words she would say "Tell it Just So Daddy".  This is why Kipling called it Just So Stories.  Connie thoroughly enjoyed the stories.

LESLEY enjoyed them but didn't read them all.   He wrote one of the stories about the kangaroo. He came to Australia in the 1990's.  She said the stories had a fable like quality.

JO liked the poems after each story and said Kipling had a very good imagination.  She also liked the ideas he came up with, especially the story about the young elephant with a very short nose. He becomes curious about meeting a crocodile. He sets off to find one and when he does, the crocodile gets the young elephant to come closer and pulls his nose to drag him into the water.  Instead the nose becomes longer and longer as the elephant pulls back.  His nose stretches and stretches and becomes a long trunk.

JULIA started to read it.  She read How the Whale got his Throat.  She showed us the illustration.  She also read How the Camel got his Hump but she couldn't really get into the stories.

LYN read this book ten years ago but didn't enjoy the stories.    She tried to read it again but didn't have the time.

BEV read SHORT STORIES

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING  is the longest story in the book.  It's a story about a journalist who has a crazy scheme to set up two British adventurers in British India to become kings in a remote part of Afghanistan and then rob the locals.  One of the kings gets killed when the locals realise he is not a God and the other one comes back in rags.  She found it too long, the print too small and the story boring.

JUDY A: read SHORT STORIES

RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI is the story of a mongoose living in  a yard.  It manages to kill a cobra to save a little boy.

KIM

JOAN read KIM, a very old book with yellow pages and very small writing.  It was published in 1901.  Joan only got to about page 130.   It's the story of the orphan son of an Irish soldier.  Although Kim is white he was born in India. Kim and an old Lama go on a quest to find the Holy River.  Neither completely British nor completely Indian, he struggles to create an identity for himself.  He becomes educated in the British system and is secretly being trained as a spy.  This is Kipling's most famous novel and very famous for the poem "If".  She said she needed to finish the book.

VAL tried to read it but didn't get it.  She found the constant need to explain an Indian God etc. irritating.  She thought the second half might be better.

TAM did not Rudyard Kipling.  She read a book by the author Joy Dettman.  The story is set in a small country town in Australia.  Tam said she really enjoyed the book and said it would be a good choice for our book club.

PAT did not read Rudyard Kipling. She read a book about Andrew Thompson, the young Scottish man who was transported to Australia in 1792.  She found the information on the floods, at that time, very interesting. 

 

 Kris

 

NOVEMBER:  We will be reading NON FICTION 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB: Autobiography or Biography

 Connie: A Star on her Door.  The Life and Career of June Bronhill by Richard Davis

While Connie is generally not a fan of biographies, she chose this one because of her love of music and a personal connection with the subject.

But again she was disappointed, as after detailing Brownhills brilliant career, her later life was plagued by illness, money problems and a failing career before her death in 2005. This was not the way she wanted to remember her. 

She wished she had read her autobiography. 

 

Ed: Daring to Fly by Lisa Millar

Lisa Millar grew up in country Queensland and through her career as a journalist spent many years overseas as a foreign correspondent. Here she witnessed firsthand many tragedies and much human suffering.  Her fear of flying was beginning to jeopardise her career and lifestyle until she found the strength and resistance to overcome it.

There is much more in this book, and it comes highly recommended.

 

Pat: Sam Bloom: Heartache & Birdsong by Bradley Trevor Greive, Cameron Bloom, Samantha Bloom

Sam and her husband live on the northern beaches of Sydney, living a lifestyle of surfing and travelling. On a trip to Thailand she was severely injured following the collapse of a balcony, ending up a paraplegic,

 devasting for such an active person.

What Pat liked about the book was that Sam never coated her situation and was honest with her feelings and how hard everything was. But this didn’t stop her from returning to canoeing and surfing, representing Australia and winning world titles.

When one of her sons brings home an injured magpie, they name it Penguin. She looked after it and this relationship certainly helped with her recovery.

Pat described it as a lovely read with amazing photos taken by her photographer husband.

 

Judy A: Leaping into Waterfalls: the enigmatic Gillian Mears by Bernadette Brennan 

The Australian writer Gillian Mears died by suicide aged 51 in 2016. She had been living with MS for 5 years. Her biography, written by Bernadette Brennan won this year’s National Biography Award.

Judy chose this biography for a couple of reasons. Her novel, Foal’s Bread is one of her very favourite books. After hearing her speak about her biography, she was keen to read more of her books. Also, Mears grew up in Grafton, going to the same High School as Judy and she enjoyed reading a book set in a place she was familiar with.

 

Judy J: Rogues: Trues Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe.

The author is an investigative journalist who writes mainly for magazines such as The New Yorker. These are previously published essays about people whose name we wouldn’t know although we may have heard of their crime.

One of these stories is titled The Avenger. David Dornstein was a young American living in Israel. His return flight to America was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

Although one Libyan man was charged over the bombing, his brother Ken spent the next 30 years trying to find and bring to justice others who were involved in the death of his brother. His dedication and his perseverance are outstanding.

Another story tells of Judy Clarke, a lawyer who defends only the ‘worst of the worst’. These are men whose crimes will lead to the death penalty.

Here she defends the younger of 2 brothers who left bombs near the finishing line of the Boston Marathon in 2013, killing 3 people and injuring 264 .She believes that people are not born evil and is a staunch advocate against the death penalty.

 

Julia: David Jason, My Life by David Jason

David has been a popular television personality for many years and appearing in many successful shows and series including Only Fools and Horses and Frost.

It’s a very amusing read with lots of great photos.

 

Rosemary: Speaking Tongues by Tom Tilly

Tom Tilly is a well-known and successful journalist, and his fascinating memoir tells of his early life growing up in Mudgee. His life revolved around football, his family, and the Pentecostal Church.

The close-knit community church was very restrictive leading to many conflicts and doubts in Tom’s mind. Foremost was the need to be able to ‘speak in tongues’.

He was torn between the life he had to live and the life he wanted to live.

A very interesting story said Rosemary.

 

Kris: Isabelle, The Life of Isabelle Eberhardt by Annette Kobak

An illustrated biography of Isabelle Eberhardt who, although she died young, became a legend in her own lifetime. Using her diaries and many previously unpublished letters, the author tells of her childhood in Geneva, her adventures in the North African desert and her identification with the Arabs. Although she died at the age of 27, she became known as “The Amazon of the Sahara”. Several books and a movie have been made of her very colourful  life.

 

Pamela: Grimmish by Michael Winkler

This self-published and very strange book was short listed for the 2022 Miles Franklin Awards. Although unsuccessful, it has now been picked up a publisher and has become a cult favourite.

Joe Grim was an Italian /American boxer who came to Australia about 1908.

He didn’t win any fights but could absorb an incredible amount of pain, humiliating boxers because they couldn’t knock him out.

The book is partly non-fiction and partly meta fiction, the author breaking the tradition of fiction, for example, with a goat as the narrator. Sometimes it was difficult to know when fiction became the truth.

Pamela said it was not a depressing but quite funny. Joe Grim was a paid pain artist!

 

Val: Russian Roulette: The Life and Times of Graham Greene by Richard Greene

 

Val’s first comment was that she was struggling with the book but enjoying it. As Richard Greene (no relation) retells the story of Greene’s life, many scenarios and characters in his books can be identified.

As a manic depressive, Greene lived life on the edge and so deliberately put his life at risk, visiting countries at war and suffering from disease.

He knew so many influential people including politicians, royalty, actors and spies.

He was not a very nice man but had lived a fascinating life.

 

Joan: Boris Johnston: The Gambler by Tom Bower

Boris Johnson was born in New York where his father was a banker. His early life is well documented as are his marriages and career path until he becomes Prime Minister in 2019. While he is a very divisive and colourful character, the book is an excellent but long and fascinating read.

He was an overprivileged young man, but had a violent upbringing in his family.

Where will his career take him next?

 

Claurene:  True Colours; My Life by Adam Gilchrist

Claurene loves biographies and is a great cricket fan, so this was an obvious book for her to choose.

She liked it because Gilchrist talks about his life beginning as a 10-year-old and he then documents his cricketing career, the different countries he played in and all the great players he played against and with.

He is also very honest with his opinion about many situations and characters.

600 pages of great reading.

 

 

Jo: The Barefoot Surgeon; The inspiring Story of Dr Sanduk Ruit by Ali Gripper

As a boy in lived in the mountains of Nepal, one of the poorest and most isolated countries in the world.

From the age of 7 he was away at boarding school and so had little to do with his family. His sister died when she was very young, so Sanduk decided he would become a doctor.

Not only did he do this, but studied further to become an ophthalmologist, working among the poor in his country. He has said he was inspired by Australia’s Fred Hollows.

A marvellous, beautiful story and very inspirational.

 

 

Next month’s author is Rudyard Kiplng

 

AUGUST 2022 -- BOOKS BY GRAHAM GREENE

 

GRAHAM GREENE was the choice of author for our August meeting. Twice listed for the Nobel Prize for Literature, and with a prolific amount of written work published, Greene is regarded as one of the major novelists of the 20th century. A number of the group admitted to having never read a novel by Graham Greene, and so by belonging to our book club our knowledge has been expanded.

CONNIE - The Heart of the Matter. 1948. Set in a small town on the west coast of Africa during the early days of  WW2, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, in a loveless marriage and annoyed at his failure to be promoted, borrows money. From here his world starts to unwind as he is faced with many ethical and moral choices, with blackmail and adultery just 2 of his problems. Connie didn't like any of the characters nor the treatment of the natives and the snobbery of the white settlers. However the writing was perfect and the descriptions of the village vivid.

JUDY A - The End of the Affair. 1951. The end of WW2, and for Maurice, his obsession with his married lover Sarah and intense jealousy of her husband has filled him with turmoil.  A dramatic accident befalls Maurice during an air raid. Sarah finds him under rubble, thinks he's dead (or nearly) and makes a promise that if he survives she'll end the affair.  He survives, Sarah sees this as a miracle and immediately finishes the affair which confuses Maurice as he doesn't know why it happened. Both characters become deeply unhappy and very troubled. Many complications and strange relationships follow.

ROSEMARY - Gun for Sale. 1936. Many film adaptations of this novel. Raven is an assassin on the run with a hostage. He's looking for who framed him. By strange co-incidence his hostage, Bev, likes him and initially helps him. Then she turns against him - is she an unwilling accomplice? The story swaps around the main 6 characters. Rosemary didn't mind the novel.

JULIA - A Sense of Reality. 1963. Four short stories which Julia quite enjoyed.

LESLEY -  The Third Man. 1950. Written originally as a film script then rewritten as a novella. The movie became very well known with Orson Welles, Jason Cotten and Trevor Howard. A mystery/thriller, it is face paced and a quick read. Harry Lime, living in post WW2 Vienna ( city ravaged by the war) invites his long time friend Rollo Martins to visit. Upon Rollo's arrival, he discovers Harry has been killed in a car accident. Events lead Rollo to discover Harry's death was not an accident. A number of characters are introduced, each a possible suspect. As the story continues, Martins learns some very disturbing facts about Harry's life and his criminal dealings.

JUDY D - The Confidential Agent. 1951.  Beautifully written, a thriller. 1939 and nations are in turmoil with war beginning. Storyline is exhausting as hero doesn't have an easy time, many plot twists occur. "D", formerly a professor, is sent by his government on a secret assignment, supposedly to buy coal. He becomes a man on the run, there's murders, doubts, threats.

KRIS - The Power and the Glory. 1940. Set in southern Mexico during 1930's the story is about a priest who is believed to be the last practising priest in Mexico. Known as the Whiskey Priest, he struggles with his own sense of unworthiness and sin. The country is trying to rid itself of the influence of the Catholic Church and the Priest is hunted through villages and plantations. An excellent writer and story teller but a dismal and bleak novel of poverty, desperation and fear. Kris was pleased to persevere with the story and found it interesting.

PAMELA - Our Man in Havana. 1948. Pamela thought the epigraph meant - the serious man will win in the end. Satirical novel about espionage. James, a vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana is asked by British Intelligence to be a spy for them. James 'invents' agents (he's paid to recruit them), draws 'diagrams' (really just the inside workings of the cleaners) and says they're plans of hidden buildings in the mountains.  People start to get killed, life becomes more serious. Well written and funny to the end.

VAL - Our Man in Havana. 1948. MI6 satire, James is seen as a great man in Havana for all his secret spying. Eventually he's found out to be a fraud, but is given an OBE to cover his tracks.

SHEILA. Didn't read much of her Graham Greene book, she couldn't continue but made the point that she loves Book Club. It offers a variety of  reading material, good conversation and the opportunity to choose to read - or not - the author, topic etc of the month.

JOAN - Battlefield. 1934 . About the politics of death row appeal. Characters miserable so not recommended. Read 'The Quiet American' 1955. Set in Saigon a British correspondent - Fowler - views the breaking down of the  colonised French and the increasing presence of American involvement in the country prior to Vietnam War. Love interests ever present. Characters were authentic with films made.

JO - Brighton Rock. 1938. Set in an attractive seaside town, behind the facade lurks a nest of criminal activity - gangs, corruption, poverty. The gang leader is a psychopath, other characters weird but Jo found it interesting.

Lesley

 SEPTEMBER:  We will be reading biographies and autobiographies of our own choice

JULY BOOKS : Written by a New Zealand author or about New Zealand

 

Connie: New Zealand Inheritance by Essie Summers

 

This author has been described as ‘New Zealand’s Queen of Romance’ having written over 50 novels and sold 19 million books in 105 countries. The book follows the Mills and Boon format where her heroines are strong characters and many continue to work after marriage to the love of their life. If there are problems, these are overcome, and life goes on staring into the beautiful sunset.

While an easy read, Connie thought the book was more suitable for a younger audience.

 

Judy J:   The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

 

Ngaio Marsh is often described as one of the “Great Ladies” of the English mystery’s golden age and wrote 32 classic English detective stories. They all feature Detective Inspector Alleyn.

When the British Home Secretary dies after an emergency operation, the police are called in to investigate. After interviewing all who were present, many had a motive or opportunity to commit the murder. Through quiet, methodical police work, Alleyn solves the crime.

Police procedures in 1935 are much simpler than today, but the story is an easy, quaint read.

 

 

Lyn: Māori Markings by Tá Moko

 

Lyn chose to read and talk about the history of the settlement in New Zealand, the Maori traditions, song, dance, customs and craft.

 

Jo: Fire by Deborah Challinor

 

An historical romance based on the Ballantynes Department Store Fire in 1947 that killed 41 people, most of them store employees trapped in controversial circumstances. Set in an unnamed NZ city in 1953, Fire tells the story of four working class friends, all employed at Dawsons, one of the country's most glamorous and sophisticated department stores. 

The story takes place when the city is preparing for a visit by the young Queen Elizabeth. When a fire starts in the basement many are trapped.

Jo thought it was a great read.

 

Val: Money in the Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy

 

Stella Duffy has published many books herself but was asked to complete a novel begun by Ngaio Marsh during World War 11 but abandoned. There was only the title, three chapters and some notes, but no plot outline.

She set the story in the South Island and featured Inspector Alleyn who was there following up on a secret war mission.  But when two murders happen and a large amount of money is stolen, Alleyn leaves his original position to help solve the mystery.

Val enjoyed the book and thought it was very true to the style of Ngaio Marsh.

 

 

Pamela: The Bones Remember by Sara Johnson

 

The story is set on Stewart Island, 30 km off the South Island of New Zealand. A visiting pathologist is asked to examine the skeletal remains of a body and very soon another body is discovered. While it is first thought to have been a shark attack, it soon seems that both deaths are related.

Pamela was interested to read of the controversy between those in the tourist industry who promoted ‘cage diving’ among the sharks, and the locals who were not in favour.

Apart from this, Pamela found that many the elements in the plot were too incredible, and much information was irrelevant.

 

 

Prue: The Cloud Leopard’s Daughter by Deborah Challinor

 

This book is the fourth in a series but can be read as a stand-alone.  The genre is historical fiction/romance and moves between the Opium Wars in China and the Gold Rushes in both Australia and New Zealand. Her books are always very well researched and  moves along quickly with never a slow part. She is a good storyteller. The characters have depth and feel familiar. 

Her books are educational and enjoyable.

 

Kris: See You in September by Charity Norman

 

Cassy is having a short break with her boyfriend in New Zealand before she begins her law course and being bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.

She is unsure about her boyfriend, so after an argument she accepts a lift from a group of people from an idyllic farming collective, planning to meet up with him later. Before long she is under the spell of the charismatic leader, Justin.

The story goes back and forth between her life in New Zealand and her parents in England frantically trying to get her back.

Kris thought it was a really good read, but at over 400 pages, could have been trimmed down a little.

 

Pat: Kitty by Deborah Challinor

 

This is the first book in ‘The Smuggler’s Wife ‘series. 

When Kitty’s father dies, her mother is left impoverished, and her only hope is for her daughter to marry well. When she is found in a compromising position with an unscrupulous adventurer, she is banished to New Zealand. Much happens in the story, but it is so enjoyable and easy to read.

 

Gulf Between by Maxine Alterio

A young man is unconscious in hospital after a car accident. His mother learns that he is there, even though they haven’t seen each other in more than forty years. As he recovers family conflict, relationships and manipulation within the family bring back so many sad memories.

 

Julia: The Stranding by Kate Sawyer

 

A dystopian novel, told in the first person, focuses on two complete strangers who meet moments before the end of the world. They miraculously survive by climbing into the mouth of the whale.

Julia gave up reading it as it became too horrible to read what they were doing to the whale.

 

Judy 3: The Secret of Strangers by Charity Norman

 

The author, born in Uganda, lived in England but has now moved to New Zealand and has written seven suspense thrillers featuring crime and family drama.

This book is set in London and a group of strangers are caught in a hostage situation in a café. The shooter rushes in and kills the owner. You learn the backstory of the hostages, the gunman and the negotiator. 

Judy thought it was worth reading and hard to put down.

 

Bev: Alex in Winter by Tessa Duder

 

Alex is a teenage girl, a swimmer in training hopefully for the 1960 Olympics. She is also coping with the death of her boyfriend in a hit and run accident.

Her main rival is a young girl, an only child with rich parents and a bossy mother.

Many obstacles and challenges are put in her way as she tries to reach her goal.

 

Rosemary: Blood Men by Paul Cleave

 

The protagonist is Edward Hunter, a family man with a beautiful wife and daughter, a secure job as an accountant and a bright future ahead. But he has a very dark past, his father being a convicted serial murderer of eleven prostitutes having been in prison for the past 20 years. He has struggled with this nightmare all his life.

However, while waiting in the bank with his wife, a hold up occurs, his wife is taken hostage and eventually killed. 

Thus begins the hunt for the killers.

Rosemary said she was conflicted with this book, not being sure whether she was enjoying it but knew she had to finish it. It certainly held her interest with many twists.

 

Joan: The Silent Frontier by Peter Watt

 

The story begins on the gold fields of Ballarat as the Eureka Stockade is under attack.

A man is killed, his siblings survive but are separated.

The story follows them through their lives until they are finally reunited.

Joan thought it a terrific story, fiction based on history, and she is absolutely hooked on it. A total escape.

Her next read is ‘Papua’ by Peter Watt.

AUGUST BOOK CLUB:  The English writer Graham Greene