Losing Your Head

Finished February 21

Losing Your Head by Clare Kauter

This humorous mystery was a great read. It is the first book in the Charlie Davies series, which is set in a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Charlie, nineteen, has been working as a cashier in a run-down grocery store in town, living at home with her mom, and hoping to save up for a better car. Her boss at the store is a creep and always makes her do extra work. When he asks her to lie for him and she does, albeit sarcastically, his wife threatens him with divorce. Charlie decides enough is enough and quits. 

Charlie goes to explain to the wife that she wasn't serious, and ends up inviting her back to her place to stay. 

With a new housemate and no job, Charlie goes looking, and finds herself in the right place at the right time to get hired as a receptionist for Baxter & Co., a security and investigation company. When she encounters her high school enemy James McKenzie, a man estranged from his family and who has lived with his uncle for years, the conversation turns to the recent murder of said uncle. Charlie bets James that she can find the real killer in exchange for a few thousand dollars and a house, he jokingly agrees, but she's serious. 

As she investigates, using tools at her new job, and enlisting the help of her new housemate, she finds herself in some interesting situations. 

Charlie is delightful. She's a tad klutzy, and known for sabotaging herself, but she has a great wit, isn't afraid to talk back, and is impulsive. She's also a hard worker, and isn't afraid to try new things, which serves her well. 

The mystery was interesting, and I liked the vibes of future romance between her and James. 

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted

Finished April 21

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman

This novel was one I chose by title alone and it was definitely a surprise. Set in Australia, inland and within a day's drive from Melbourne, most of the story takes place in the late 1960s, either on a small farm, or in the town nearby. There are also occasional flashbacks to one character's experiences during World War II and its aftermath. The main character here, Tom Hope, wakes up to a note from his wife Trudy letting him know that she's left him. This is devastating to him, as he loved her, but looking back he can see that there were signs that she wasn't happy. As she returns and leaves again, the experience leaves him with a child that he finds himself loving fiercely and forming a strong bond with. 

When he loses the child, he is once more devastated, losing himself in the routine of farmwork. Tom has sheep, and fruit trees, and makes enough to get by. 

When he hears of a bookshop opening in town, he is surprised and curious. When he meets the woman who is going to run the store, he finds himself drawn to her. She is Hannah Babel, a Hungarian Jewish woman who survived Auschwitz, but lost her own family. She has done a variety of things since then, but the bookshop is close to her heart. Although older than Tom, she finds herself drawn to him as well, and both of them dare to believe that they have found love. 

As they face emotional and financial barriers, their relationship is stressed and in jeopardy unless they can find a way forward despite their past pain. 

The characters are unique and have their own quirks and outlooks. Tom is a very giving man, one who cares about people and takes disappointment to heart. Hannah has suffered much loss in her life, and is afraid of more. These are characters with histories that are painful, and as they learn to understand each other and trust each other, there is hope that they can find a future together. 

The setting comes alive here, and one can picture the farm and the hills and river. There are many interesting characters besides the two central ones, and I would be interested in learning more about many of them. As the plot brings Tom and Hannah together and threatens to rend them apart again, there are bits of larger stories that influence theirs and add depth. 

A very interesting read. 

Wrap-Up of 2021 Aussie Author Reading Challenge

Aussie Author Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted at: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/reading-challenges/aussie-author-challenge-2021-australian-writers-book-reviews

I went for the Wallaroo level again this year, and I met the challenge.

WALLAROO
Read and review 6 books written by Australian authors, of which at least 2 of those authors are female, at least 2 of those authors are male, and at least 2 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, at least 2 different genre.

1. Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13 (female, new to me)

2. The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke. Finished February 13 (female)

3. Gravity Is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty. Finished March 14 (female, new to me)

4. The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally. Finished March 21 (male, new to me)

5. Shiver by Allie Reynolds. Finished March 18 (female, new to me)

6. The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. Finished September 7 (female)

7. The Mapmaker's Dream by James Cowan. Finished October 15 (male, new to me)

 

The Daughters of Mars

Finished March 21 

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally

This novel takes place just before and during World War I, following two sisters from small town Australia through the war. Both Naomi and Sally are nurses, Naomi in Sydney and Sally in Macleary, where they grew up. As the story begins their mother is in the last stages of cervical cancer, being looked after at home by Sally after her regular work at the local hospital, with occasional visits and respite for Sally from Naomi. Sally is the younger sister, and she resents Naomi for some things, like escaping their small town, but also feels tied to her by other experiences.

Both girls apply to go overseas when there is a call for nurses, and both are chosen. Naomi has pressured Sally to stay home to look after their father, but Sally fights to find her own life. They are in the same batch of nurses to ship out, and it takes them some war experiences to find friendship as well as sisterhood. They are often in the same group of nurses, and form friendships with these other women, from a variety of backgrounds. They are also in contact with officers in the Australian army, army doctors, and orderlies and various friendships, and romances develop between the nurses and these men during the years of the war. 

The women go through a variety of harrowing and draining experiences, with all of their skills called upon. They serve in receiving wounded men in the harbour of Gallipoli, on the island of Lemnos, and in France. They grow into their adult selves and find internal strength through these experiences as well as the determination and support for each other that they didn't have before the war. This novel was nominated for numerous awards and won several, and was a book that I could barely put down despite it being a doorstopper. Both Naomi and Sally are deeply drawn and you get a real sense for their characters. There are also several supporting characters who come to life through their interactions and reactions to the situations they are faced with. Well worth the read. 

Gravity Is the Thing

Finished August 14 

Gravity Is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty

This book, set mostly in Australia, with a short section set in Montreal, is the story of thirty-six-year-old single mom Abigail Sorensen. The book opens just before her thirty-sixth birthday, where she is on a small island off Tasmania in response to an invitation she received for a big reveal. Starting twenty years ago, when she was sixteen, she began getting random chapters to something called The Guidebook in the mail. She has faithfully sent in address changes and responded most of the time to an annual reflection prompt and is interested to find out what is behind the mailings. However, another part of her associates these mailings with her missing brother, as that also happened when she turned sixteen, just after her first mailed chapter. Despite have a good police liaison and following up every lead, they still don't know what happened to her brother, so part of her hopes for that truth as well. 

She finds a group of people near her age, all of whom had kept getting the chapters from The Guidebook, just as she had. The getaway is run by a man named Wilbur, who is the son of the couple who sent out the chapters. After a couple days spent doing a variety of activities,  a select group of those attending are let in on the secret behind the chapters, and the reaction is underwhelming. Some are disappointed, some upset.

After she goes back home, Abigail is invited again to continue with follow-up sessions and something in the universe seems to be telling her to attend. 

There is a lot going on here. We gradually learn Abigail's story, about what happened when her brother Robert disappeared and how her family dealt with the situation. We know that her mom has a new partner Xuang, who Abigail likes, and we learn about her ex-husband Finnegan. Abigail's son Oscar, four years old as the book begins is a large presence in the book too. Abigail trained as a lawyer, but now she runs her own cafe, one called the Happiness Cafe, in north Sydney. 

We see a selection of the chapters that she received, and they are pretty off the wall, and quite short. As I said, they arrive in a completely random order, and she didn't read all of them, or follow all the instructions that they gave her, although she did some, and they did have an effect on her life as she thinks back. 

As we see her relate to the various people in her life: employees, friends, family, and the new people she meets at Wilbur's sessions, we begin to learn about Abigail. I liked her. I think she'd be fun to know. We see her worries and her daily life. We see some of her thoughts as she goes through her days. This is a book about a woman's life, as she considers it and makes the decisions that will determine where it goes next. I really enjoyed this book. It is hard to classify. There are elements of romance in it at times, but mostly not. There is the mystery of her brother's disappearance, which continues throughout, but is just one of the plot lines. It is really just about life.

Her Aussie Holiday

Finished January 13

Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London

This light romance hit the spot this week for me.  The author is originally from Australia, but now lives here in Canada. 

Cora Cabot was only too happy to offer her New York City apartment as a trade when her friend Liv from small town Australia contacted her for advice on finding a place for a month while she did an intern. Cora has been working on a novel, but recently her literary agent father's feedback set her back a bit. She wants to concentrate on writing, enjoy the balmy weather and the nearby beaches, and not have to think about her work. She works as an office manager at her father's agency, doing a variety of administrative tasks, but not really enjoying her work. Now that her narcissistic and media hungry mother and her high profile father are having a very public divorce, and coming off a recent relationship of her own, she relishes some time to distance herself from her real life. 

Liv's house is one that she bought cheaply because of the work that it needed. She has started on the upgrades, with the help of her family, including her two brothers that work in the construction field, but things are still a little rough in spots. 

When Cora, bleary from her long travel to get there, decides to wash off the grime of travel, she doesn't look around to see that some work is in progress. 

Liv's brother Trent is a man who works hard and doesn't always pay attention to everything his family is chatting about, and he considers Liv's absence an opportune time to get some work done on her place, and escape his place, which has suddenly made him even more conscious of his singlehood with his roommate's girlfriend moved in and the walls thinner than he'd like. He is the one that started work in the bathroom, but took a few shortcuts in his prep, such as not shutting off the main. 

The result is a very wet Cora, wet carpets in nearby rooms, and a complete loss of the keepsake scrapbook that Liv has spent a ton of time on in anticipation of their parent's upcoming anniversary. Neither Trent nor Cora is crafty, but they gamely tackle the project, and Trent calls in additional help to deal with the plumbing issues. 

As Trent includes Cora in his social life and family get-togethers, she finds friends and a family dynamic very unlike what she's used to. 

I liked seeing Cora blossom in this new environment, allowed to be herself in ways she hadn't been up to now, and start to trust her own instincts about her life and skills. I also loved the seaside Aussie setting, wishing I could escape there as well. 

The Weekend

Finished November 15

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

This Australian novel is set around a Christmas season weekend, with three long-time friends in their seventies. It's been a year since they lost the fourth member of their group, Sylvie, and Sylvie's partner is planning to sell her house in a seaside town. The three women will clean out the house, taking anything they want to keep.

It's a good plan, but the women are all dealing with personal issues of their own. 

Jude has worked in restaurants all her life and never married, but she's had a decades long relationship with a married man, Daniel, with him supplying the apartment she lives in. They meet on a regular basis and she's sure his wife must be aware of her existence, but no contact with her has ever occurred. One of the meetings is due to happen at Sylvie's house after the clean-out. They've met there at that time of year regularly. 

Wendy, an internationally respected academic, lost her husband several years back and fell into a depression, one that her dog helped her to climb out of. Her dog is now old and failing, but she can't bring herself to let it die. She has difficult relationships with both her children, feeling more distanced from them that she would like.

Adele is an aging actress, one who hasn't been working for sometime. She has fallen into poverty and her most recent relationship has just ended, leaving her without a place to return home to after this weekend. She is in good shape physically and looks after herself, but is clinging to her identity as an actress and not able to find a way to move forward. 

As the three women learn how to navigate their relationship with each other without their fourth member, they also must figure out the next step in their individual lives.

I really enjoyed this book, with its strong characters and nuanced relationships.

The Elephant

Finished February 15
The Elephant by Peter Carnavas

This lovely little book is a great addition to any library with a children's section. It tells the story of a young girl, Olive, who lives with her dad and her granddad. Her mom died when she was very young, and she really only knows her through pictures. Olive can see that her dad isn't happy. He has a routine when he gets home, but he's really just going through the motions. When Olive looks at him, she sees a large grey elephant beside him, one whose shadow darkens everything around it. She knows that until the elephant goes away, he won't get better.
Olive's been thinking about this for a while, and she finally shares it with her friend Arthur who reads a lot and who knows how to listen. Arthur offers her some good advice, and begins his own reading about elephants to see if he can learn things to help her.
At school they are celebrating the school's 100th anniversary at the end of term, and all the children are asked to bring something old to show the others and share the story of. Olive wants to bring her bicycle, but her father has taken it to mend and still hasn't fixed it. Her granddad offers some options to her: a typewriter, and a record player, but while Olive enjoys them, they don't hold the same meaning for her.
Olive loves getting met after school by granddad, especially on the days he is wearing his purple backpack. On those days, she knows they will have some sort of adventure. But there are times when her granddad is sad too, and has his own grey creature by his side.
As Olive and Arthur work together to find a way to make the elephant go away, Olive also wants to help her granddad and thank him for providing the colour in her own life.
This is a great book to help kids understand when someone in their lives is struggling with depression. The use of the various animals brings the idea of depression to life in a physical way, and the way people work together to make things better for everyone shows that there is often a way forward past the depression.
The illustrations for this book are simple, yet show so much. From the jacaranda tree that Olive loves to sit in to think, to Olive, Arthur, her teacher, her dad, and her granddad, to the grey animals (especially the elephant with its tiny black top hat) and the various objects that play a role, the line drawings bring the story to life for young readers.
I loved it.

Star-Crossed

Finished April 19
Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke

This Australian novel was a delightful read. Justine Carmichael has been working as a copy-runner at the Alexandria Park Star, doing whatever is asked of her while she waits for a reporting position to open up. The Star has developed over the last thirty years from a street rag to a glossy current affairs magazine. Justine runs errands, gets coffee, delivers messages and generally does whatever needs to be done. Justine has an incredible memory, a love of literature, and a penchant for correct grammar. She carries a sharpie in her purse and corrects signs, menus, and other sources of grammar and spelling mistakes that she encounters in her day. Nick Jordan is an actor, so far not very successful. His latest gig has him wearing a fish costume at the local market, which is where Justine and him meet, or rather meet again after several years of not seeing each other. Their mothers had been best friends, until his family moved across the country. Justine has never really forgot Nick and the one evening they spent together at the young age their were then.
Catching up on each other's lives, Justine discovers that Nick is a big believer in horoscopes, particularly the ones that run in the magazine she works for. When an unexpected opening at work brings the transcription of the horoscopes under Justine's purview, she can't resist tweaking them to encourage Nick to think of her romantically. But of course, Nick is not the only Aquarius reading those horoscopes, and there are other people who make life choices based on what Justine has done.
I really enjoyed this read, liking Justine, and Nick and several of the other characters that come along. There is a good deal of humour, a general light-hearted flavour to the book, and of course some romance. Definitely recommended.

The Flooded Earth

Finished August 10
The Flooded Earth by Mardi McConnochie

This middle grade novel falls into the dystopian subset of climate fiction, fiction, known as clifi, that takes place after the world's climate has caused catastrophic changes. The main characters in the novel are Will and Annalie, twins, and the children of a man, Spinner, who had previously worked for the government trying to find solutions for problems facing the world's inhabitants.
As the book opens, it is forty years after a devastating flood that flooded entire countries, devastated coastal communities and had a huge economic effect. Many countries redefined themselves, opting not to repopulate some areas even after flood waters receded. Refugees found themselves in horrific camps, or living in the abandoned areas of the world.
Annalie was encouraged by her father to apply to the prestigious government boarding school in their country, Dux, and was accepted, but she feels like an outsider. She and Will were raised by their father in one of the abandoned areas and lived off the grid until now. During the flood the military took charge of the government and is still in charge. They are known as The Admiralty. When the authorities come unexpectedly for Spinner, he sends Will to a friend's place and goes for an escape. He doesn't make it to his boat, which The Admiralty has taken custody of, but he does disappear. And the authorities now come to Annalie, asking her questions about her father and making her feel unnerved. After talking to Will, she decides to leave school and go home to join Will and try to find their father. Her only school friend, Essie, daughter of a senior government official who has fallen to scandal, decides to come with her.
As the twins and Essie set off on a sea voyage after Skinner, along with Skinner's enhanced talking parrot, Graham, they are in for a big adventure. The must dodge the government officials that are trying to find them, avoid the pirate ships that prey on boats where they can, and try to decide who to trust as they follow their instincts and carefully choose ports to stop in for supplies. This is obviously the first in a series of books following the children, and I am dying to find out the next adventures for them. The author is well-known for both children's and adult fiction in Australia, and I am pleased to discover her.

McSweeney's 41

Finished April 24
McSweeney's 41 edited by Dave Eggers

The collection of writing here varies widely in nature and setting. Some focus on the characters, such as the first story River Camp, where we have two men, brothers-in-law with very different outlooks on life, who have agreed to take a trip together in the wilderness. Their guide is a real character, and the two men don't exactly get along. The reader sees how they react to a difficult situation, each in their own way.
Another story, American Tall Tale is based on the folk tale of Paul Bunyan, but definitely takes the plot in a direction I hadn't anticipated.
There is also nonfiction included here, such as A Land Rush in Iran, where the author takes a closer look at the changes to one neighbourhood in Tehran over time. Another nonfiction inclusion, What Happens After Sixteen Years in Prison, looks at two sisters convicted for a crime they didn't commit, facing a troubling future when they are finally freed.
Another character-focused story is The Wolf and the Wild, where a man sentenced to community service finds real satisfaction in one of his assignments, but finds that others involved in the project aren't really interested in his ideas.
Stay Where You Are involves a situation with a couple who are traveling and get taken into the forest by a gunman. We see inside their thoughts about the situation and about their crumbling relationship.
Some stories, like Afternoon Street, feel surreal, like we are inside the mind of someone mentally ill or under the influence of something.
The main character in Robot Sex is an advanced robot working an office job and dealing with loneliness.
The book ends with four stories, each by a different Australian Aboriginal author. I think I enjoyed these the most.

On the Beach

Finished August 29
On the Beach by Nevil Shute

I picked this up in the general store waiting for the ferry to Thetis Island and found it a fascinating read. First published in 1957, the novel is set in 1963, a year after the end of a short but terrible war. Over the first few pages, the reader learns of the extent of the war. It would appear that the war started with Albania, turned into an Israeli-Arab war, then a Russo-NATO war, then a Russo-Chinese war, and involved many nuclear weapons including cobalt bombs. Most of the northern hemisphere seems to be affected as no one responds to contacts the surviving American ships try to make. The ships' most senior officer gave the order to sail into Australian waters and place themselves under Australian command.
The main characters are mostly Australian, beginning with Peter Holmes, a Lieutenant Commander with the Royal Australian Navy and his wife of two years Mary. They have an infant daughter, Jennifer.
An American atomic-powered submarine, the U.S.S. Scorpion, survived the war and is now in Melbourne harbour, and in early 1963 Peter is asked to join it as a liaison officer. The captain of the Scorpion is Commander Dwight Towers, also a fairly young man, with a wife and two children back home in the US.
The reader gradually learns of the situation, the fuel shortage, the radioactive dust moving in the atmosphere, the expectations for the future. We see into the lives of Peter and his family, Dwight, and the young Australian woman Moira Davidson that the Holmes invite to help entertain the American when he visits the family on shore leave. We also see the young scientist John Osborne, a radiation specialist assigned to the submarine, and learn of his dreams.
Everyone had a life they were in the middle of living and we see how they adjusted to their new reality, how they changed as time went on, and the truth began to sink in.
In this time of war rhetoric and unstable leaders, it didn't seem like that outlandish a plot.

Tumbledown Manor

Finished December 24
Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

This light novel begins in New York City where Lisa Trumperton is having a significant birthday. But when a gift of flowers arrives, she discovers that her husband of many years has been having an affair, and her life is changed forever. Lisa is a writer, and is struggling as she writes a second book in a planned series. Her marriage breakdown doesn't help matters.
She decides to return to her birth country of Australia to put herself in a new environment. She initially stays with her sister in Melbourne, but quickly begins looking for a house of her own. When she finds that the home her grandfather grew up in, an estate a couple hours away, is for sale, she can't resist buying it.
As she tackles the massive renovations needed at the manor and settles into the community, she discovers herself all over again.
This is a story of love, of friendship, and of self renewal. Inspired by the author's observations of friends who underwent midlife changes, this book looks with optimism to a fresh start and an acceptance of others as they are.
There are many minor plots here including the stories of Lisa's two children and the reality of her grandfather's life choices. I found it a fun and refreshing read.

The Full Ridiculous

Finished February 8
The Full Ridiculous by Mark Lamprell

This humorous and touching novel follows Michael O'Dell a middle-aged man who is hit by a car while out doing his morning jog. He survives, but he begins to lose control of his life around the same time.
Michael has left his newspaper job in order to write a book, but his agent is having difficult selling it and this is putting financial pressure on the family. His daughter Rosie has a disagreement with a fellow student that slides into physical aggression. This causes both academic and legal troubles. His son Declan is struggling at school, and appears to have friends that exert the wrong kind of peer pressure, although he is taking a promising interest in film. A policeman with his own agenda seems to keep popping up their lives in a threatening way. Rosie's boyfriend Juan is living in their basement after being kicked out of his own home. And Michael's wife Wendy is trying to hold everything together while Michael gets himself back together.
This is a tale of an ordinary family that has a series of events overtake their lives. There is worry, grief, humour, and love. This is a family that cares about each other and that looks out for each other. His writing reminded me of Mark Haddon, whom I also love. A great read.

A Fraction of the Whole

Finished September 29
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

This debut novel got tons of great reviews and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I had bought it some years ago, and finally grabbed it to meet a challenge as well as provide a nice thick book for a plane trip. The novel is set mostly in New South Wales, Australia.
As the book begins, Jasper Dean is in an unspecified jail, that seems to have a bad inmate control issue. We know that his father is dead, but are not sure of the specifics. Jasper then goes back to the beginning of his life to let us know how he got here, but really he has to go back even further, to the beginning of his father's life, Martin Dean. The book is told in both Jasper's and his father's voice, and draws from information that Jasper either heard from his father, heard from someone else who knew the situation, or from his own experience or research through written records.
As we learn of the difficult health issues of Martin's childhood, the arrival of his brother Terry, and Terry's terrible slide into a life of crime and notoriety, I found myself unable to connect with the characters. I was able to connect better with Jasper once he got into the story of his own life, and how he was influenced by both his father and the reputation of his uncle.
Well a good narrative, I wasn't really captured by this novel and thus it took me more than the long plane ride to get through it, and I almost gave up a couple of times. Perhaps if I had read it more slowly over  a longer period of time, it would have worked for me better.

Albert of Adelaide

Finished October 6
Albert of Adelaide by Howard L. Anderson

This quirky novel is set in the outback of Australia. Alberta is a platypus who has carefully planned and managed his escape from the Adelaide zoo, looking for a place he has heard where free animals like himself can live happily. He has managed to make his way north by hopping trains and is now well north of Alice Springs. As the book begins he is running low on supplies and is worried about survival, when he encounters a wombat named Jack who shares his supplies with Albert and the two begin to travel together. The first community they encounter is Ponsby Station, a mining town with a bar run by a kangaroo called O'Hanlin. They encounter other animals there, in particular a couple of bandicoots named Alvin and Roger, who reappear later in the story. Things get a little wild in Ponsby Station, and the two are forced to make a hasty run for it. They separate and Albert continues his adventures, first at an establishment called the Gates of Hell, run by a wallaby named Bertram and a possum named Theodore, an unpleasant couple of creatures. He befriends a stranded American, TJ, a raccoon from San Francisco who is attempting to find a way back home. As Albert makes friends, he also finds he has an undeserved reputation that both helps and hinders him. Throughout the book, there is reference to a creature named Muldoon, who we eventually encounter and learn his sad story.
This novel features numerous Australian animals, all looking for a better life than what was dealt to them, and all learning to deal with the reality of what they encounter. Interesting and thought-provoking.

Sarah Thornhill

Finished September 16
Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

Every novel I read by Kate Grenville confirms her as a wonderful writer. Sarah Thornhill's story begins as a child, the youngest child of William Thornhill. William came to Australia as a convict, but worked hard and became a landowner, with a nice house on the Hawkesbury River. Sarah isn't a demure girl, but one who rides horses, loves spending time outdoors, and asks questions when she wants to know things. She is close to her oldest brother Will, and his friend Jack Langland. Jack is someone Sarah has had strong feelings for since she was a child, and intends to marry one day. Jack appears to have strong feelings for her as well. But  Sarah's father has a secret, and when Sarah makes her intentions known, this secret is revealed to Jack with devastating results.
Bereft by the loss of Jack, Sarah finds herself a new life, but when the past returns years later, she must face her family's history.
A novel of race, family, and Australian history, this is a tale that shows the best and the worst. Sarah is a young woman with a strong will and a strong sense of self. Her story shows her character growth.

Recommended to me

Finished August 29
The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville
On a recent visit to B.C. a very knowledgeable clerk in Tanner's recommended a couple of books to me. We'd had a short yet interesting conversation and I bought two books on her recommendation. This is one of them.
I'd read Kate Grenville before, but liked this one even better than the other I'd read.
Set in the little town of Karakarook, New South Wales, this follows three characters: two visitors and one who lives there.
Douglas Cheeseman is an unprepossessing middle-aged man who is in town as the on-site engineer to replace an aging and damaged bridge, known as the Bent Bridge. Douglas is recently divorced and is aware that his wife found him boring. He also suffers from vertigo, an interesting ailment for a bridge engineer. He is also fascinated by concrete.
Also visiting Karakarook is Harley Savage. Harley was born into an artistic family whom her lack of art skills disappointed. She has had three husbands, and isn't looking for any relationships. Harley is in town to help setup a Heritage Museum, on loan from the National Museum of Applied Arts. She is also a textile artist, who specializes in vernacular interpretations. She is a large woman, uncomfortable in social situations.
The third character is Felicity Porcelline who is obsessed by perfection, in her person, her home, and her life. She worries about wrinkles and cleanliness. She moves in the community, yet set apart from the others. Even when directly interacting with other people, Felicity is obsessed by her own actions and appearance.
The theme indicated by the title is an interesting one. Felicity is in constant pursuit of perfection, yet within she is a very flawed woman. Harley and Douglas are very aware of their flaws, physical and social, and yet find that those very flaws give them strength.
I loved the characters and seeing what was going on within them here. Definitely a great read.

Australian Fiction

Finished January 17
After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld
This extraordinary novel follows a father and son in Australia as they deal with inner turmoil. Frank has run from the city to a small shack on the coast that his grandparents bought, and that his parents took him to on family vacations as a child. He is running from his own anger, and from a failed relationship that he didn't take the time to make work.
Leon, Frank's father, tells of his own teen years, taking on the responsible role in the family after his father returns from the Korean War scarred and unable to take on the responsibilities that he left behind. Leon himself is drafted into the Vietnam War and is also scarred.
Frank hasn't talked to his father in years, and doesn't really want to.
Told in alternating chapters by the two men, we see how the dealt with the life that they were dealt and how they cope with the things that have brought them to the present in their lives.
The story is heartbreaking and yet ultimately hopeful, and very well written.

Australian Fiction

Finished October 9
The Incredible Journey by Catherine Martin
My mother-in-law spotted this in a book sale and thought of me. I'd never heard of it before, but it was first published in 1923 and is one of the first depictions of an aboriginal character in fiction. The author was raised to think of aboriginals in a more enlightened way than most in her time, and, as she says, "in order to put on record, as faithfully as possible, the heroic love and devotion of a black woman when robbed of her child".
There is an introduction to the edition I read that places this novel historically and gives some idea of just what a stir it made at the time. Martin was born on the isle of Skye and grew up in South Australia following the Highland clearances.
The book follows the character Iliapa, an aboriginal woman who went after her son when he was stolen away by a white man. Interestingly, the book was published right around the same time as the state parliament passed a law increasing the state's power over aboriginal children, including allowing them to be taken from their parents.
While still depicting some prejudices of the time, it speaks to the aboriginals as being treated with injustice by whites and having the same intellectual capacity. Definitely ahead of its time and an interesting work in the history of Australian literature.