Stef Penney's first novel "The Tenderness of Wolves" is by far one of my favorite books. I was eagerly awaiting her second novel. It doesn't have the same zing to it that she managed in the first novel but it is still a great story.
Set in a Gypsy community in the UK, one of women of the Janko family has gone missing. They go to a Romani private investigator and ask him to find Rose. A lot of the Gypsy culture is explored and described, which I found interesting. It's not a traditional detective novel, more a story that features a detective in amongst a whole set of characters.
Great read, but Penney's first novel is still the better of the two.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Random Acts of Heroic Love | Danny Scheinmann
This is an interesting premise, two love stories separated by space and time. One in Siberia just after WW1 and the other in South America, modern day.
Both stories are semi-autobiographical, as Scheinmann's' grandfather was a POW and after escaping walked for three years to be reunited with his sweetheart. The second story closely mirrors the author's own grief at the loss of his girlfriend in a similar crash in South America.
So far so good. As we read on we discover how these two men are connected and how one story helps the other to recover from intense grief and guilt.
I liked this book immensely, it avoids cliches and is not trite although it touches on many themes we have read before. Well worth the time invested in reading it.
Both stories are semi-autobiographical, as Scheinmann's' grandfather was a POW and after escaping walked for three years to be reunited with his sweetheart. The second story closely mirrors the author's own grief at the loss of his girlfriend in a similar crash in South America.
So far so good. As we read on we discover how these two men are connected and how one story helps the other to recover from intense grief and guilt.
I liked this book immensely, it avoids cliches and is not trite although it touches on many themes we have read before. Well worth the time invested in reading it.
Friday, February 1, 2013
A Far Country | Daniel Mason
I've been waiting for Mason to write another book after reading The Piano Tuner a few years ago. I was so pleased when I found his second novel.
It couldn't be further removed from his first work which was set in Burma. A Far Country is set in...a far country! We are not told specifically where it is but to me it feels like a country in South America, Brazil or maybe Peru.
It doesn't really matter because of the way Mason describes it and makes us feel like we've been there, that we recognise the landscape. I found this really clever and caught me off guard a little as the story felt familiar whistle being totally new.
Basically it's the story of a struggling family who live in the countryside, far away from the big city. The way out of poverty for many is to send their young people to live and work in the city and send home the money they earn. This migration of youth in turn makes the rural areas poorer as there is no new generation coming though to work the farms.
One young man goes to the city and his sister who is left behind is devastated by the loss so decides to go and find her brother. We journey with her to the city and discover it through her overwhelming experiences. The size and noise, the shattered dreams once she figures out cities are not rich and not everyone works and the realisation she has no way of finding her brother.
This is a beautifully written book, worth reading, as is Mason's first book The Piano Tuner (which he wrote while still a student at University).
It couldn't be further removed from his first work which was set in Burma. A Far Country is set in...a far country! We are not told specifically where it is but to me it feels like a country in South America, Brazil or maybe Peru.
It doesn't really matter because of the way Mason describes it and makes us feel like we've been there, that we recognise the landscape. I found this really clever and caught me off guard a little as the story felt familiar whistle being totally new.
Basically it's the story of a struggling family who live in the countryside, far away from the big city. The way out of poverty for many is to send their young people to live and work in the city and send home the money they earn. This migration of youth in turn makes the rural areas poorer as there is no new generation coming though to work the farms.
One young man goes to the city and his sister who is left behind is devastated by the loss so decides to go and find her brother. We journey with her to the city and discover it through her overwhelming experiences. The size and noise, the shattered dreams once she figures out cities are not rich and not everyone works and the realisation she has no way of finding her brother.
This is a beautifully written book, worth reading, as is Mason's first book The Piano Tuner (which he wrote while still a student at University).
The Grapes of Wrath | John Steinbeck
This is a true classic. One of the things I like most about Steinbeck's writing is that he can really tell a story. His books are full of colourful characters who are not superheroes but ordinary people. The last time I read this book was in high-school so I wanted to re-read it to remind myself why it's held in such high regard.
The Grapes of Wrath deals with the dustbowl years. They were a hard and impoverishing time in the USA when the weather and politics combined to drive people off the land and into cities in search for jobs. Farmers watched as the wind literally picked up their top-soil and blew it all away. Hard working families packed up what they could and took to the roads, often in a southerly direction, looking for jobs.
There was great animosity towards these 'migrant' workers and this conflict is well captured in this book.
Steinbeck had the ability to draw people in such a way that we empathise with them regardless which side of the argument they are in.
Yes, it's a classic and well worth reading every few years.
As an aside my favourite photographer is Dorothea Lange who photographed this era and recorded the plight of the workers. Well worth checking out her photos.
The Grapes of Wrath deals with the dustbowl years. They were a hard and impoverishing time in the USA when the weather and politics combined to drive people off the land and into cities in search for jobs. Farmers watched as the wind literally picked up their top-soil and blew it all away. Hard working families packed up what they could and took to the roads, often in a southerly direction, looking for jobs.
There was great animosity towards these 'migrant' workers and this conflict is well captured in this book.
Steinbeck had the ability to draw people in such a way that we empathise with them regardless which side of the argument they are in.
Yes, it's a classic and well worth reading every few years.
As an aside my favourite photographer is Dorothea Lange who photographed this era and recorded the plight of the workers. Well worth checking out her photos.
Welcome 2013
Each year I keep a list of what I read, mostly to keep track and jog my memory! in 2012 I read 75 books of which 34 I rated as excellent. In the next few weeks I will be reviewing these 35 books and hope it will inspire you to read them.
Have a great year of reading.
Here are my 35 top books for 2012:
The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck
A far country by Daniel Mason
Random acts of heroic love by Danny Scheinmann
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 and 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 Georginna Harding
The chemistry of tears by Peter Carey
Never have your dog stuffed by Alan Alder
The other child by Charlotte Link
The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding
Sorry by Gail Jones
The trouble with fire by Fiona Kidman
The supermarket companion by Wendyl Nissen
El cuaderno de Maya by Isabel Allende
At home by Bill Bryson
The cat's table by Michael Ondaatje
The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
Fred Hollows by Peter Corris
The Newlyweds by Nell Freudunberger
One Flat Coyote on the centre line by Karen Goa
Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich
Each year I keep a list of what I read, mostly to keep track and jog my memory! in 2012 I read 75 books of which 34 I rated as excellent. In the next few weeks I will be reviewing these 35 books and hope it will inspire you to read them.
Have a great year of reading.
Here are my 35 top books for 2012:
The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck
A far country by Daniel Mason
Random acts of heroic love by Danny Scheinmann
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 and 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 Georginna Harding
The chemistry of tears by Peter Carey
Never have your dog stuffed by Alan Alder
The other child by Charlotte Link
The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding
Sorry by Gail Jones
The trouble with fire by Fiona Kidman
The supermarket companion by Wendyl Nissen
El cuaderno de Maya by Isabel Allende
At home by Bill Bryson
The cat's table by Michael Ondaatje
The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
Fred Hollows by Peter Corris
The Newlyweds by Nell Freudunberger
One Flat Coyote on the centre line by Karen Goa
Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich
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