Supermarket Companion | Wendyl Nissen

Here is a MUST read for all of us who  frequent supermarkets. Even if you grow your own vegetables, have chickens, buy organic meat from the butcher...we all eventually have to go to the supermarket. This handy companion is a guide to what is in the stuff Supermarkets put on their shelves.
Each chapter deals with a food variety ie: snacks, ready made food, bread, drinks etc and gives you tips on how to choose the healthiest options.
At the back of the book there are charts and quick guides to additives, flavorings and preservatives best avoided.
I will try and copy them out and have the lists in my hand bag for when I am in the supermarket and I want to check the ingredients listed.

There are handy recipes in each chapter which are healthy alternatives to some of the stuff we buy.

Well worth buying, reading and having as a reference guide to check food labels.  You may even feel healthier!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie | Alan Bradley

This book took me by surprise, as the main narrator is a precocious 11 year old girl called Flavia.
Nothing much in that, except it's a murder mystery and Flavia goes about trying to solve the murder of a stranger in their veggie patch.
It took a while to get used to the tone, but all in all it was a really nice read. Not overly challenging with respect to the actual who-dunnit, but full of interesting asides and quirks of life in the Big House as interpreted by Flavia. It's a little like a Gothic thriller, only not that scary.
Big house, three girls growing up under the shadow of a dead mother and a distant father. So far, so English Manor house. Flavia's love of chemistry and fully equipped lab in the attic of the house give us plenty of interesting facts about all sorts of weird and wonderful plants, chemicals and poisons, which are her passion.
Eventually the mystery is solved, relationships move along. This is a good read, even if not a thriller or a blood n guts murder. Quirky and amusing.

The Trouble with Fire | Fiona Kidman

I often find it hard to get into a book of short stories as they are usually brief. This however has to be the best collection of short stories I've ever read. Fiona Kidman has long been one of my favourite New Zealand authors and all her stories well worth reading. This collection has stories that stand alone and others which are about the same series of characters, telling a different part of their stories.
Really worth while, I loved this collection.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed | Alan Alder

A highly readable autobiography. I picked it up not knowing a lot about Alder other than his M+A+S+H TV series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about him.

He had a very unusual upbringing and dysfunctional family. His parents were actors in theatre and Alder was brought up backstage. He recalls all the semi-clad women who doted on him and watching his parents from the side of the stage. From an early age he was included in their acts.
His mother seems to have some sort of mental health condition and his father eventually divorces her. Alder escapes to Europe and haphazardly finds his way into an acting career. It wasn't easy for him but his description of his situation and his life in general are made with a light touch, a sunny and positive perspective rather than a melancholic one.
He seems genuinely happy! He looks at the best part of everything and doesn't seem perturbed by the weird and wonderful things that have happened in his life.
There are photographs of him throughout his life and the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones  of him and his grand-kids tap dancing in his garage. He is dedicated to his family.

I was encouraged by this book and his outlook on life, it lifted my perspective and I wish I could say that to him. His book is worth reading, it will make you laugh, entertain you and help you see the best in others.

The Solitude of Thomas Cave | Georgina Harding

I've always enjoyed stories of Polar exploration, both fiction and non-fiction. I think it's because incredible journeys have been undertaken which put men under such duress, they all seem a bit surreal. The true stories are often more unbelievable than the fictitious ones.

This story I loved. Told in a very precise and economical style, beautiful language and haunting imagery. Thomas Cave on a dare is left behind in the Far North to winter over on his own. He seems well equipped in all respects to survive the winter  but he is a melancholic man and there are hints of a tragedy in his past. He is a strong but flawed man and there is intrigue there in terms of his past and his ability to deal with it in order to survive the winter.

As the night descends on Cave, we are drawn into the psychological nightmare of the loneliness, the darkness and the mental strength required to survive. He hunts and comes into close contact with polar bears  who seem to become a totem animal to him.
The story also explores life after the ordeal and how Cave lived out his days totally colored by the Polar Night he experienced.

It was engrossing and beautifully written.

Sorry | Gail Jones

I love reading Australian authors. Jones is no exception although this is the first of her novels I have read. There is so much of the Australian landscape and climate  infused in the characters and stories of Australia.
"Sorry" is the story of a mismatched family dysfunctional in the extreme. A scholarly father, a crazy mother and Perdita the child. The family moves from England to Broom, Western Australia to study the Aboriginal people of the area. The isolation and culture shock drive Stella (the mother) to cling to her knowledge of Shakespeare and eschew reality. She ignores Perdita who is neither schooled not doted on by her parents. As the marriage strains and fails, Perdita is left to the care of Mary the Aboriginal girl helper. Perdita's only other friend is a deaf/mute neighbor who in his simplicity loves her and communicates with her in contrast to the silence of her parents.
The novel touches on many themes but most poignantly it addresses the prejudices agains Aboriginals. Jones has a deep understanding of their culture and shows this through Mary's character. It's not a happy story but a touching one.
I am going to look out for Jone's other books as she writes in a beautiful style.

An Honourable Man | by Gillian Slovo

I found this book recommended by someone so I downloaded it onto my Kindle for something to read while I traveled.

Unfortunately it wasn't as engaging as I would have liked. The story switches between three protagonists and their respective locations.
A London doctor, John, who volunteers for the Cramer Corps in the British Army. His wife who stays behind and finds herself with nothing much to do. And finally General Charles Gordon who was under siege in Khartoum.
John rediscovered himself as he works with the wounded and gets into more and more dangerous situations. He realised his London life has become monotonous and predictable. He realises his marriage has lost its passion and priority in his life.
His wife is caught up in the politics of the war and the stress of being on her own. She turns to laudanum for comfort and is soon heavily addicted. She then befriends a local prostitute to supply her.
Gordon is delusional and awaits his rescue mission with dwindling hope.

There is resolution at the end of the book for all three characters but I felt it was tedious getting there.

An exceptionally good run of great books

Every time I read a book I add it to my database of "Books I've Read". I also give them a one word appraisal to prompt my memory. Thus far this year I have read 45 books, and of those 22 have gained an "excellent'. This is by far an unusual and personal best for any year.
I will review all the books individually but here is a list of my favorite reads in the last 6 months for those who need ideas about what to read next. Enjoy!

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
A Far Country by Daniel Mason.

Random acts of heroic love by Danny Scheinmann
As the Earth turns silver by Alison Wong
The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

A Beautiful Place to die by Malla Nunn
Wulf by Hamish Clayton

The World We found by Thrity Umrigar
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright
The different world of Fin Starling by Elizabeth Stead
Peacocks Dancing by Sharon Maas
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch

The Paris Wife  by Paula McLain
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding
The Chemistry of tears by Peter Carey
Never have your dog stuffed by Alan Alder
The Other Child by Charlotte Link

Painter of Silence | Georgina Harding

I judged this book by its cover...It was sitting on the library shelf, looked moody and mysterious so I took it home!
This story has an unusual setting, Romania in the 1950's. The main protagonist is a deaf-mute man who is born to one of the servants of a wealthy country squire. The child Augustine grows up with the daughter of the family, Safta who has all the privileges of the wealthy. The story follows their lives as the war engulfs Romania, the Russians invade and destroy the illic life they have known. He is an intense character, who can only communicate through his drawings and the figurines he creates from scraps of cardboard he finds in the streets. 

Sefta's family leaves for England but she chooses to stay and use her nursing skills to help out in the war effort. August is left in the countryside, people care for him but eventually he is driven to find Sefta and tell her all that has happened in the old country estate and the people they grew up with. He also reveals how he was imprisoned and taken to a labour camp because of his drawings.

This is a time in history I don't know much about and I think it helped, as I was able to concentrate on the beautiful way the story unfolds, the intensity in the characters and the pathos of their lives. The language is also beautiful and evokes place and time so well we can easily imagine it.

I really loved the experience of reading this book, I found myself thinking of the characters well after finishing the book. Well worth reading.

Jamrach's Menagerie | Carol Birch

This novel has one of the best openings I've read: 'I was born twice. First in a wooden room that jutted out over the black water of the Thames, and then eight years later in the Highway, when the tiger took me in his mouth and everything truly began...'

I was hooked into the story of Jaffy Brown, London 1857. He lives in a poor part of London, makes his way in life working hard, no mention of school or education, but there are many wonderful people in his life. It's a story about making the best of opportunities. This is not Dickensian, depressing or melancholic as the story is told in an upbeat manner, characters are drawn believably and we really care about them. Jaffy meets Jamrach (a real person in London 1800's) and works with the exotic animals in Jamrach's shop. Then a rich gentleman orders a dragon, so Jaffy goes to sea with Dan, the animal hunter, to try and find one. 

Loved every minute of this novel and I'll search out the other novels by Birch. Well worth reading and passing on.

Peacocks Dancing | Sharon Maas

This book has been such a treat to read. It's inspired me to read other of Maas' novels as she is a very entertaining story teller.

The setting for this novel is a little known South American country, Guyana. This in itself is fascinating as I have never read a book with this setting and its interesting history.
Rita is the main protagonist, who comes from a predominantly Indian heritage, although as we read her story we discover that most people seem to have an agglomeration of bloods and histories in them. Rita is a very self possessed young girl who doesn't fit the norm. She grows up with her widowed father until he re-marries. Marylyn the step mother is everything Rita is not, very feminine, conscious of her attire, their social standing and getting the right husband for her daughters. A step sister eventuates, Isabelle. And Rita's whole life is transformed. She mothers her baby sister and sets up a pattern of dependency which stretches throughout their lives.
The story spans most of Rita's adult years and her search for identity and purpose in life. This search leads her to  her family in India, and a defining moment when she meets her cousin Kamal. He has his own search for identity and mission in life which is the  rescuing of young girls sold into prostitution in Madras and Bombay. It's harrowing but obviously the author is deeply concerned for these girls and we can sense the desperation of their lives in slavery.
A story well written, researched and told.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, it is worth while and entertaining.

The Different Life of Fin Starling | Elizabeth Stead

Gorgeous story, gorgeous wee book. Odd things are happening in this out of the way, armpit-of-Australia township and it all seems to be because of Fin Starling. The town is full of quirky characters who are transformed after Fin's birth into proud citizens.

They clean up the town in the hope of earning the Tidy Town award. But all the hard work and cleanliness brings with it changes to everyone's life. Most become obsessed with being clean, phobic to dirt...Somewhat like Fin.
Hard to say why or how Fin has such an influence on the town's people, but the story revolves around the characters and spins a charming and funny story.
Worth reading if you are after something a little bit different.

Novel About My Wife | Emily Perkins

This book has sat by my bed for a few weeks. For some reason I was reluctant to read it but eventually it made it to the top of the pile. It's a strange narrative, a husband writing about his wife, which we are told early on, is dead.
He tells of their meeting and falling in love, his passion for her although he begins to understand that he doesn't really know her.
Anne seems a credible character until she is involved in a train accident and consequently describes a man she keeps seeing and is convinced will attack her. Everyone is concerned, until her claims become preposterous.
At the same time Anne is pregnant and gives birth to Arlo.
We are never quite sure whether she's mad or bohemian, whether he's naive or vacant or lovely.
The novel is written in such a way that we don't quite understand how Anne dies and the suspense builds right to the end. The husband's voiced is beautifully captured and we develop a lot of sympathy for him.
All in all a very successful story and I'm glad I finally got to it. Perkins has just released her latest novel which is touted to be her best yet. Am off to get it this week!

Spilling the Beans | Clarissa Dickson Wright

Clarissa of "Two Fat Ladies" fame has written a very good and entertaining autobiography. This is an insightful look into the devastating effects of alcoholism through many generations of her family and her own downward spiral into this disease as well as the climb out of it to recovery.

She grew up in a privileged English family but in perpetual fear of her father and his physical abuse of her and her mother. The youngest of the children, she has a lot to bear and feels very responsible for supporting her mother.
Clarissa studied law and was a successful barrister, lived the high life and seems to know anyone who is anyone in London! Alcohol took hold and finally destroyed her physically, mentally and professionally. Eventually as a form of recovery she worked part time in a bookshop specializing in cook books and her foodie career was born (unbeknownst to her). One thing lead to another and eventually, once she was running her own bookshop in Scotland, she was approached to star in the "TFL" series. Things seem to snowball. Clarissa became a passionate advocate for the farmers of the land and in educating people on fresh, locally grown produce.
A very readable and funny book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Vaclav & Lena | Haley Tanner

I hadn't heard of this title nor of the author of this novel but I picked it up and gave it a go. Am so pleased I did, as it is a gem of a book. It takes a bit to fall into the rhythm of the language, but as the story unfolds it's an easier read.
Set in Brooklyn, among Russian immigrants, this is the story of two children Vaclav and Lena. Both on the margins of their school communities, they meet as young children and have an instant bond and friendship.
Vaclav is passionate about becoming a magician and  having Lena as his lovely assistant.
Lena is a quiet and withdrawn child, we get glimpses of her home life. Firstly with an old woman who is not her grandmother but is her carer, and later with an Aunt, who mostly leaves her to fend for herself. Lena is home with Vaclav every day unless at school. His mother looks out for her and feels a little responsible for Lena.
When Lena is nine, Social Services take her away. No one hears from her until she is 17, when she calls Vaclav and the full story of her childhood comes out. All the narrate threads lead to the climax and end of the book. It's a beautiful, tortured story and I loved every minute. Well worth reading and I hope Tanner writes her second novel soon.

Let the dead lie | Malla Nunn

This the second novel by Nunn, and having enjoyed her first one i eagerly awaited it. The main protagonist is Emmanuel Cooper, a mixed-race detective in Durban. We get a bit of background from the many references to the first novel, A beautiful Place to Die. This is what spoiled it for me. I think a more careful edit would have made the text flow, taking out the repetitive back-story references and constant reminder he's on a deadline and why.
 I think the first novel is much better, the story is crisper and the ending sews things up. The second novel left me hanging and a bit tired! What was the point of that whole story, I asked myself.

Nunn is a new author so i hope she has a go at a third novel, and gets some better editors on board.

Wulf | Hamish Clayton

What a gem! What a sensational read! I hadn't head of Clayton before this, and as a first time novelist he remains relatively unknown...BUT...This is a masterful book, researched well and beautifully told. The story of Te Raupraha, a famous Maori chief is told from the perspective of seamen arriving at Kapiti Island to trade. Through their interaction with the fierce Maori chief, the massacre in Banks Peninsula ensues.
The beauty of the book lies in the language Clayton uses, turns on it's head and reworks to describe the unique landscape of New Zealand. This is the book I would send my friends overseas to encourage them to learn more about us.
Wonderful read, exciting new author.

A Far Country | Daniel Mason

I've been eagerly awaiting another book by Daniel Mason since reading The Piano Tuner a few years ago. Mason is a young man with a lot of talent as a great storyteller.

A Far Country is set in an undisclosed country but I would pick Mexico or Brasil or some other Latin American country. It is a raw portrayal of life in a poor rural community where people depend on the arid soil for their livelihood and on rain for their survival. As both fail, the young people have to go to the coastal cities to find jobs and a future. The cities are always the land of milk and honey but the reality far from it.
We meet a family who has lost a son to the city, and his sister who goes off to find him in the firm belief he has made it as a musician.
An arduous journey on the back of a truck, stranger danger and illness is endured just to find the city and her brother. Once she arrives at her cousin's home in a slum the realities of city life sink in. Everyone is struggling just like at home, the rich have the benefits and lifestyle, the poor do all the manual work.
As much as it sounds like a dour story line Mason has an amazing ability to speak in the voice of a young girl with her hopes and dreams in a very believable style. I really enjoyed reading it, there is poignancy and yearning that are universal and it's easy to empathize with the characters and their communities.
Mason is well worth reading, both books are very enjoyable. I hope he publishes again soon.

The Invisible Ones | Steph Penney

I've been waiting for this book for a long time, ever since reading The Tenderness of Wolves. Penney overcomes huge personal phobias to get her books researched and written, so I take my hat off to her for the effort. Both these books are well wroth reading.
In The Invisible Ones, the protagonists are Travelers (Gypsies) in England. I had a small inkling into the life of Travelers after enduring about half an episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding....It was good background! Penney tells the story of a family plagues by ostracism, prejudiced and a mysterious familial illness. The characters are intriguing and I got to know and care for them in the space of the story. The life and history of Traveler families in the UK is incredibly interesting.
In this novel Ray Lovell, a private investigator of Gypsy origin, is contracted by a Gypsy family to find Rose Janko who disappeared soon after marrying into the Janko family. As Ray probes into the life of the Jankos, he comes up against more and more opposition to his investigations and eventually is poisoned for his efforts. His insights and probings into Gypsy life become our own discoveries and surprises into the life of these often overlooked and mistreated group of people.
I found it a great read, and I hope Penney has almost finished her next book because I am an avid fan of her writing.

To Kindle or not to Kindle

As my profile states, I have read and read since a very young age. There is no doubt about the fact that I love books and bookshops. There are bookcases in every room of the house, and books can be like old friends. When I travel my usual souvenir is a book by a local author. It's great to rummage through second hand shops in foreign ports.
Having said all that last year I was given a Kindle by my husband and I totally love using it. I no longer have 4-5 Kg worth of books in my luggage when I travel, I no longer run out of books to read and I find myself using it more and more at home.
 The non-reflective screen is the biggest plus, as it doesn't cause eye fatigue as can an ipad or tablet. The prices of books are very low and there are thousands of free books to download.
 Kindle is also really well priced for what it is and it's more than just an e-reader. Totally sold on the concept. Try one out if you haven't already, it's well worth it.

The Snowman | Jo Nesbo

Once in a while I like to take a break from the usual stories I read and immerse myself in a crime thriller. I've read a fair few authors, most of whom have three or four good books in them, gain fame and then rewrite their books once a year just to get published. Boredom ensures.

So this year I was hunting out another author and a friend recommended Jo Nesbo. Norwegian and compared to Stieg Larssen, I was a bit suspicious BUT I started reading him.
I read Redbreast first and was really impressed with the quality of writing and the story itself was captivating and it took a few chapters to work out what was going on.

Then I read The Snowman and was hooked on Nesbo's books. This one was quite creepy, in a good way! Harry Hole is the main policeman, the usual misfit protagonist of these kinds of novels. But he's likeable and carries the stories very well.
In this story there are crimes, there are women disappearing, there are snowmen left behind...What links them all? Read on!
I have just downloaded The Leopard on my Kindle and will start it today. Nesbo writes well, far better than Larssen. The books are very well translated and worth while reading if you enjoy the crime genre.

Running the Rift | Naomi Benaron

I read this last week and I'm still mulling over the story. I haven't read many books on the Rwandan genocide, as it's such a brutal chapter in African history. This story comes from the perspective of a young man who loves to run, is talented and Tutsi.

As he grows up he is given the opportunity to represent his country and he has his sights on the Atlanta Olympics competing in the 800m. But in the background the nation is boiling over with political tensions and the massacres begin in earnest. He escapes with his life, but not much else.
The story is well told, with enough emotional understanding of the conflict between Tutsi and Hutu for us to gain some insight and share some empathy with the main characters who come from both racial groups.
As I read I often recalled scenes from Hotel Rwanda, which helped to reinforce the scenes played out in the book.
I recommend this book but be prepared for the hard hitting realities of a nation who tears itself apart in acts of genocide.