tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78151958247108076272024-02-21T05:09:27.222+13:00Book Reviews by AluminéI am passionate about books and am often asked about good books to read. There are so many titles to choose from out in the world, I want to make the choice easier by sharing the ones that I think are really worth reading.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.comBlogger225125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-77424919395636842642019-05-30T17:52:00.000+12:002019-05-30T17:52:56.205+12:00Road Ends | Mary LawsonHere, Mary Lawson is at her best. I loved reading this novel, because it seemed effortless, and yet so many complex issues were dealt with in the relationships of the Cartwright family.<br />
A reclusive father, unable to cope with the unraveling of his wife's mind, sits in his study and dreams of parts unknown while ignoring the running of the household. Tom, 24, returns home after a stint as an aeronautical engineer, because of the suicide of his best friend. Margot keeps all the wheels in motion, as her mum is upstairs, in the bedroom, with the latest baby. Absorbed and absolved of all duties, she has one baby after another as she cannot cope with the kids once they are not babies.<br />
And yet, there seems to be a shadow looming...Margot starts to question her mother's sanity.<br />
There are countless children, boys of all sizes, making a lot of noise. Margot must escape if she is to live her own life.<br />
Margot escapes to London, settles there and yet is drawn back to Canada because of the baby brother she reared. The family is never far from her mind. But the sense that she will be trapped into duty keeps her away for a long time.<br />
Woven in these lives are so many threads and the beautifully drawn characters keep us engaged and wondering about them once the book ends.<br />
Loved it.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-52016943609138513912019-05-25T11:04:00.000+12:002019-05-25T11:04:03.357+12:00The Stone Crusher | Jeremy DronfieldFor every person killed in the Holocaust, there is a story. This is another non-fiction account of a father and son who did not die, but were interned in all the major concentration camps, and survived.<br />
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There are similarities with other survival stories: small miracles of food and friendship, being in the right line or section in a camp, benign kapos, which helped Gustav Kleinmann and his son Friz survive the horrors of war.<br />
They were caught ( Vienna, Austria) and shipped to Buchenwald early on in the war, and had to help build it. Thanks to this Fritz gained construction skills which kept him alive in the following years. There were many intellectuals and political prisoners here and thanks to them Fritz gained an education in his own country's history and politics.<br />
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Gustav was shipped to Auschwitz and Fritz volunteered to go with him, knowing that together they might have a chance of surviving. En route they were separated and Fritz spent some time in Mauthausen, where prisoners were killed though hard labour.<br />
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Over the whole of the six year ordeal, Gustav kept a diary of sorts in a small notebook he managed to keep with him. Fritz didn't know of it, and after the war was able to piece together more of their story through his father's notes.<br />
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Through the notebook, interviews with Fritz and other eye-witness accounts, Dronfiled has pieced together this remarkable story. The bonds between father and son kept them alive, when all was hopeless and lost.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-27232483550165536362019-05-25T10:48:00.003+12:002019-05-25T10:48:54.632+12:00Mr Peacock's Possessions | Lydia SysonThis is worth reading!<br />
As more and more blogs and reviews pop up everywhere, I want to concentrate on having a blog which encourages you to read books which are worth spending time on. I've just read three great books in a row, and this is one of them.<br />
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The setting is intriguing: a small uninhabited island in the Pacific, 1879. Based on the author's great uncle King Bell, who lived on the island of Raoul. Remote, harsh, volcanic. Fertile but grim.<br />
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The Peacock family is driven to the island by the father's manic desire to own an island, to be self-sufficient, to rage against the machine... The family has to go along with him and as more and more children are born, they build rudimentary shelters, plant gardens for food, fight off rats and goats, and forge a life for themselves.<br />
Ships pass every few years, and one of them brings eight pacific island men to work for them to establish plantations and industry, all part of the Father's imagination.<br />
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The day the men arrive, the oldest son disappears and the family starts to unravel and the island's secrets are uncovered.<br />
This story is very powerful, explores aspects of family life, exploration and colonisation in such a way that it captures us and keeps us reading, wondering how things can possibly be resolved.<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-17777279302068197792018-11-01T10:32:00.000+13:002018-11-01T10:32:01.343+13:00The Water Cure | Sophie MackintoshThis is one of those novels where the truth of the story is just dancing around our peripheral vision. It's beautifully written, and we are drawn in by the unusual setting and the unusual family in the centre of it.<br />
On an island, isolated from the world, three sisters live within the stories the parent's weave to keep them safe from all evil and men in particular.<br />
To say the stories and rituals are weird doesn't go far enough, but they are normalised within the context of the island, the family dynamics and the sisters' loyalty to each other.<br />
It's best to suspend belief and just read the story, and enjoy it for it's own sake. Things make sense in the end.<br />
Well worth reading.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-1604320172388198262018-10-15T15:08:00.000+13:002018-10-15T15:08:20.525+13:00The Killing of Butterfly Joe | Rhidian BrookThis is such a great story, populated by eccentric characters, in an American dream that was believable of the ''80s.<br />
It's a surreal landscape and a very weird story, but a real pleasure to read.<br />
The narrator of the story is a sad Welshman Llew Jones who decided a cure for his grief is to go to America and write about his experiences. He meets Butterfly Joe and they go on a road trip to sell rare butterflies and re-establish the fortunes of the Boscoe family.<br />
Things get weird. The Boscoe family has a huge collection of rare butterflies collected by the mythical Father, who abandons the family in search of adventure. The matriarch rules with a rod of iron and fear. She is heavily scarred from a fire in the family home.<br />
Joe's siblings and hangers on work in the family business of mounting and selling butterflies. Things get weirder...<br />
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Overall this is a fun book to read, the belief in the American Dream driving them through the landscape and educating Llew. It's a little like the Budapest Hotel, if you enjoyed that, you'll love this.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-83524542770861169012018-09-03T12:25:00.003+12:002018-09-03T12:25:33.012+12:00A Great Month of BooksI've been recording all I read for the last forty years. It's a great way to remember what I've read as there are over 1762 entries! Each record has the basic information about the book with a one-word lasting impression: excellent, very good, good, boring...<br />
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In the last month I've read 10 excellents in a row. Never before has there been such a long string of great reads so I thought I'd share the list, and review them all here over the next few days.<br />
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<b>The List of Ten great reads:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh<br />
Hanoi, Adieu by Mandaley Perkins<br />
The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth H Winthrop<br />
Second Sight by Aoife Clifford<br />
Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton<br />
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje<br />
Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett<br />
Lie Still by Julia Heaberlin<br />
Balck-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin<br />
Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin<br />
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I hope you can enjoy some of these titles.<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-78981593406631545462018-01-10T14:53:00.000+13:002018-01-10T14:53:03.158+13:00Border | Kapka KassabovaThis book is a page turner from the start. Not in a conventional way, but because of the people you meet in it's pages, the landscape which speaks with a unique voice and the beauty of the writing.<br />
The Border refers to the only remaining patrolled, fenced border in Europe, that between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Throughout history it has been a region of conflict and violence as people try and escape into Europe. The conflict between Islam and Christianity has waged war in the valleys and deep forest of the area, creating displaced people, abandoned villages and many life histories altered by the Border.<br />
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Kassabova lived in Bulgaria, later emigrating with her family to New Zealand. From there she returned to Europe as an adult and pursued a writing career.<br />
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She has an amazing ability to meet people, empathise with them and in turn tell their stories in a beautiful way which enlightens the reader. There is so much history in this area.<br />
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Kassabova travels mainly by car around the region engaging local guides to show her the local sights and personalities. There is a very useful map in the front, where you can follow her travels.<br />
I'd love to see an illustrated version of this book as the landscape is a character in itself.<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-24531592459895372592018-01-10T12:12:00.000+13:002018-01-10T12:12:15.092+13:00Best of 2017Another year rolls by and another list for you to enjoy. These are my favourite reads of the year, which I will review individually as soon as possible. Here they are:<br />
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Border by Kapka Kassabova<br />
Home fire by Kamila Shamsie<br />
Tess by Kirsten McDougall<br />
Risingtidefallingstar by Philip Hoare (note the tittle is correct, one long word!)<br />
Cause of Death by Cynric Temple-Camp<br />
The Longevity List by Merlin C Thomas<br />
Island Home by Tim Winton<br />
The Dry by Jane Harper<br />
The Good People by Hannah Kent<br />
The Ocean at the end of the Lane by Neil Gaiman<br />
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce<br />
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery<br />
See you in September by Charity Norman<br />
Under a Pole Star by Steph Penny<br />
One of us by Tawni O'Dell<br />
The Friendship Highway by Charlie Carroll<br />
Don't close your eyes by Holly Seddon<br />
A voyage for madmen by Peter Nichols<br />
Moonglow by Michael Chabon<br />
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel<br />
The Double Blind by Chris Bohjalian<br />
Close your eyes, hold hands byChris Bohjalian<br />
Perfect Little Life by Kevin Wilson<br />
The Story of a New Zealand River by Mary Jane Mander<br />
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee<br />
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land<br />
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett<br />
The Infinite Air by Fiona Farrell<br />
Enduring Grace by Carol Lee Flinders<br />
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline<br />
Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr<br />
The Telling room by Michael Paterniti<br />
About Grace by Anthony Doerr<br />
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian<br />
The Party Line by Sue Orr<br />
Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh<br />
The Village at the End of the Empire by Fiona Farrell<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-79678944842740172412017-08-14T14:59:00.002+12:002017-08-14T14:59:14.554+12:00A Voyage for Madmen | Peter NicholsI love a good sailing story as they contain plenty of adventurous people who are just a little bit mad. But in this book, wow, most of them are off the scale.<br />
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This is the true story of the first round-the-world yacht race. It was sponsored by the Sunday Times and was called the Golden Globe race and was seen as the last frontier: to sail singlehandedly around the world non-stop and without any assistance.<br />
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Nine men left England in 1968 and only one made it across the line (1969).<br />
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The men involved are what is amazing about this book. Each is researched and are well drawn, making us part of each man's personal journey and in the quest to win. Some had a background in the navy, some as weekend sailors, one had never sailed before...the world was a different place then!<br />
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Nothing like this race could happen now, as back then there was no GPS technology, not health and safety hounds, not much required other than the will to go on a huge voyage and try to survive in a small boat.<br />
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Much has been written about this race and the outcomes so there's not much point repeating information here but it is worth saying that if you want a good book to read, full of the challenges one must face in solitude, agains all odds, this is a great book to read. The last of the great sea adventures. Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-8105011404429975072017-08-14T14:29:00.002+12:002017-08-14T14:29:58.099+12:00Don't Close your Eyes | Holly SeddonThere are a lot of books of like this one out there at the moment, I think it started with Girl on a Train...and I've had to review quite a few of them. Mostly are opportunistic, badly written rants.<br />
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BUT, if you want a thriller that won't disturb your sleep but will keep you entertained, this is a very good one.<br />
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Two families in the Uk are friends, then swap partners, and the children are left in the middle to agonise through the upheavals of blended families and broken relationships.<br />
Robin and her twin Sarah are separated, Callum leaves with his Mum, and is relieved to be away from his abusive Dad. A tangled web is woven. A tragedy has occurred in the past, we're not sure what. It has traumatised all the children, and they have no contact with each other just a few years after living together as blended families.<br />
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The chapters are told from the point of view of the twins, then and now. Robin is a recluse, Sarah has lost her daughter and husband and in desperation starts looking for her twin, who does not want to be found.<br />
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The intrigue keeps you reading.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-82342605447768486152017-04-07T16:59:00.001+12:002017-04-07T16:59:18.264+12:00The Villa at the Edge of the Empire | Fiona FarrellAlthough we lived through the 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes, I've been reluctant to read anything written about them. may it's because we lived through them and feel no need to relive them in literature.<br />
However...I have enjoyed Fiona Farrell's work before, so I picked up this book and set aside my trepidation. I'm glad I did.<br />
Farrell loves the city of Christchurch, whcih was devastated by the earthquake of February 2011. As she knew the city beforehand she has been able to reconstruct the character and heart of the city by using the idea of maps.<br />
She tells the story of the earliest maps made of Christchurch, of a future city to be established on the Canterbury Plains. She then chooses parts of the city and it's geography and maps to take us through the issues of what was there and familiar, what was destroyed and the plans and blueprints being drawn up to make the city anew.<br />
She describes the tensions between wanting a city of the future, without disregarding the heritage and history whcih shaped Christchurch from the start.<br />
Farrell also draws a similar portrait of another town she is familiar with, L'Aquila, which has suffered through many earthquakes. It's not so much as a comparison to Christchurch, but as another example of a community looking to regenerate the place they live in.<br />
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This book is brilliant, because it covers a wide range or issues facing cities world-wide, and yet, with feeling and sensitivity explores the real meaning of community, belonging and the love of place.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-73607214466054319372016-08-01T12:23:00.000+12:002016-08-01T12:23:01.964+12:00A Perfect Red | Amy Butler GreenfieldPreviously I have read Colour: travels through the pain box by Victoria Finlay in which each chapter is dedicated to a short history of the main colours we know today.<br />
I was interested to read A Perfect Red, a more thorough history based on one colour as I found it interesting that colours have histories very unique to each hue.<br />
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Red has had a checkered past. Pre 1493 it could only be extracted from the madder plant and was quite insipid. The name red was assigned to any hue from light pick to deep burgundy and was highly sought after as it was rare.<br />
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With the discovery of the New World the conquistadors encountered the Aztecs and were astonished at the vibrant red they were able to produce from the small bug cochineal. Three hundred years of competition ensued, where the Spanish monopoly in cochineal was attacked by mercenaries, merchants, pirates and royalty.<br />
Europe was taken by storm when guilds began using the small crushed bugs to produce the most vibrant cloth ever to be seen. There was huge secrecy around dyers and their guilds with regard to the use of cochineal on threads and a variety of fabrics. Venetians were famed for their ability to produce rich red velvet. <br />
Laws were enacted to prescribe who could wear red (and other colours) to denote social standing. Colour was a serious business.<br />
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Many other fascinating historical facts surround the colour red, and the book is very well researched and written. A great read.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-36907663019044211202016-08-01T12:07:00.000+12:002016-08-01T12:07:38.926+12:00Barkskins | Annie ProulxIt's hard to describe how successful this novel is, given it is a novel about trees, their history and their demise.<br />
Barkskins is Proulx' s latest novel and as with all her others, she is meticulous in her research and in her writing, leaving us with no doubt once again of her enormous talent.<br />
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This is a wide sweeping novel which begins in 1600 when Charles Duquet and Rene Sel sail to New France, Canada, in search of better lives. Charles Duke (formerly Duquet) settles into the life of an axe man and soon establishes a huge lumber company. Rene Sel marries a Mi'kmaq woman whose tribe lives in the forests of Canada and are renown as healers and hunters. They are guardians the forest.<br />
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The Duke family throughout generations seek out the biggest native forests, buy them and demolish them. Fist in Canada, USA and then Asia and South America. They have total disregard for ecology, environment and the consequences of the devastation they bring.<br />
Meanwhile the Sel family traces it's demise in parallel to the demise of the forest they have lived in for generations and which disappearing. The destiny of both families are intertwined.<br />
The story ends in 2013, with a bit of hope and redemption for both families and hope in the possibility of regenerating some of the forests consumed by the appetite of consumerism.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-33521601087025767902016-08-01T11:44:00.000+12:002016-08-01T11:44:37.845+12:00The Silence of Banventure Arrow | Rita Leganski<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bayou Cymbaline, in the 1950’s, Louisiana: a child is born who makes no sound, but can hear ‘the Universe of Every Single Sound’. Bonaventure Arrow is born into a family holding on to secrets and guilt and he becomes their means of redemption.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dancy, Bonaventure’s mother is unable to let go of the greif caused by her husband’s untimely, seemly random shooting. Who is The Wanderer, why did he kill William? Dancy cannot move on to love another because she thinks William’s death is her fault. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Letice, William’s mother, is sure the secret sins of her youth are the cause of her son’s murder. She is seeking to put guilt to rest. Dancy’s mother Adelaide Roman is consumed by the Souther quassy -religious mania of the time, hoping to heal and redeem her grandson and release them from the curse of muteness. Behind it all is William, who from almost Heaven, tries to bring peace to his family and get to know his son. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then we meet a chorus of Creole characters led by Trinidad Prefontaine who has the gift of Knowing, and is sure her destiny is tied up with the Arrow family’s hope for a better future. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-428a9383-4355-3309-4751-1e8a6fb1a707"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Astoundingly beautiful piece of writing, magical realism which captures the reader right from the first page. </span></span>Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-25327738512347518852016-03-14T12:18:00.006+13:002016-03-14T12:18:49.744+13:00Did you Ever Have a Family | Bill CleggI enjoyed the structure of this novel. A central event is seen, chapter by chapter, by various key players. As they describe their experiences, the truth is revealed.<br />
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The stage is set for a beautiful garden wedding for June's daughter. But in the night, a fire engulfs the home, killing June's daughter, fiance, ex-husband and boyfriend. The officials clean up the site immediately, taking no care to find the source of the fire. Everyone thinks they know who set it and why.<br />
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June needs to redefine her life, so goes off and lives in a quiet motel by the Pacific Ocean. And it is this location which connects many of the characters in the town. The caterer who never got paid, the local kid who helped with yard work, the mother of June's boyfriend... They all get to tell their side of the story.<br />
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Intricate web of strands ties this circular tale into a beautiful story. well worth reading.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-11694604108429215972016-03-14T12:10:00.003+13:002016-03-14T12:10:27.220+13:00The Flood | Ian RankinRankin wrote this while at University, instead of writing his thesis. I rate this one as one of his best books. Loved the story idea and the style. He really can tell a story.<br />
In this novel, we meet a mother and son trying to make sense of their world, a small Scottish community. They are both marked by the unfortunate events in the mother's life: as a child she was pushed into the chemical runoff of the local factory. Her hair turns white and she is marginalised by ignorance and suspicion.<br />
As a solo mother, more isolated than before, she starts a relationship with a schoolteacher and as her son grows up she has to reveal their family secrets for him to make peace with himself and his community.<br />
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Dark, powerful and a great start to Rankin's career.<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-74992801418685819732016-02-10T13:01:00.001+13:002016-02-10T13:01:35.428+13:00Best Books of 2015For me, 2015 proved to be a record year for reading. In 2015 I managed to break the 100-book mark. Of those, forty four books made it to my 'excellent' list. I will endeavour to review them all for you but for starters, here's the list. I hope you enjoy going through them.<br />
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Off the Map by Fergus Fleming<br />
Waiting for Doggo by Mark B Mills<br />
Little Princes by Conor Gennan<br />
Into the Dark Corner by Elizabeth Haynes<br />
The Spark: a mother's story of nurturing a genius by Kristine Barnett<br />
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell<br />
The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay<br />
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore<br />
The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam<br />
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler<br />
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd<br />
A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart<br />
Oyster by Jane Turner Hospital<br />
Goat Mountain by David Vann<br />
A Mile Down by David Vann<br />
A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell<br />
The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone by Charity Norman<br />
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper<br />
House of Stone by Christina Lamb<br />
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki<br />
Madness in Civilization by Andrew Scull<br />
Traitor by Stephen Daisley<br />
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson<br />
All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr<br />
Chappy by Patricia Grace<br />
Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan<br />
The Mountain Can Wait by Sarah Leipciger<br />
That Old Ace in the Hole by Anne Proulx<br />
The Rocks by Peter Nichols<br />
After Such Kindness by Gaynor Arnold<br />
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent<br />
Mountain Rescue by Phillip Merchior<br />
The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Roberti<br />
Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss<br />
Euphoria by Lily King<br />
Sweet Caress by William Boyd<br />
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton<br />
This is Where I Am by Karen Campbell<br />
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood<br />
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies by Fredrik Backman<br />
Headstrong:52 Women who changed Science by Rachel Swaby<br />
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield<br />
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<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-17144675552265933632015-10-24T15:59:00.001+13:002015-10-24T15:59:23.729+13:00Euphoria | Lily KingI just finished this slim volume and I am sad that it's over. It is a wonderful story, really well told. Each character is compelling and we care about them. I am still thinking about them although the novel is read.<br />
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This is the story of three anthropologists working in New Guinea, in the 1930's. Told through the eyes of Andrew Bankson, it also includes notes form Nell and husband Fen who are working with tribes up river from him.<br />
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Slowly the three are mired in a three-way relationship which is passionately intellectual, theoretical and amorous. There is huge tension as they share working methods, thrashing out theories on the tribal behaviours they observe and their own behaviour as two men in love with the same woman.<br />
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Nell immerses herself among the women and children of the tribe and learns that way. She had been published, a fact Fen is jealous of and is constantly trying to prove himself to her and Bankson. He is a surly, moody and possibly violent individual, using fairly unorthodox methods in his investigations.<br />
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Bankson is beset with guilt and sorrow over the deaths of his two brothers and father, and dominated by a disapproving mother back in England. He is despondent about life and his work but his passion is ignited as he works with Fen and Nell.<br />
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The story builds to a climax, and although the outcome is unexpected, it fits perfectly with the rest of the story.<br />
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Well worth reading.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-7158707507785366622015-10-22T15:40:00.004+13:002015-10-22T15:40:42.134+13:00The Reader on the 6.27 | Jean -Paul DidierlaurentThis book is part fable, part fairytale and is totally charming. It is possible to read it in one sitting but it is so gorgeous , one should resist the temptation and make it last!<br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The main protagonist is <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">Guylain Vignolles who is thoroughly immersed in the routines of his life. He lives alone, with his goldfish as his only companion. He goes to work on the 6.27 train, sits in the same place and reads aloud random pages he rescues from his work. He is employed to operate a book-pulping machine, a huge monster Guylain hates but is tied to in a very ironic way. He hates his boss and workmate and the whole ethos of what his work entails. The only bright spot in his bleak existence is the presence, larger than life, of the security guard at the entrance of the plant. He is enamoured with recitation and everything he says is in poetic form. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">The commuters on the 6.27 train come to love and expect the readings and Guylain has a following of sorts. One day he finds a USB left on the train and once he opens it he discovers it contains the diary of someone called Julie. He slowly falls in love, and begins a search to find her and return her USB to her. </span></span></span><br />
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A truly delightful read. Don't read it all at once though!Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-84590588153856275592015-10-22T15:24:00.001+13:002015-10-22T15:24:21.210+13:00The Mountain Can wait | Sarah LeipcigerI seem to have read quite a few Mountain novels lately: Goat Mountain by D. Vann, Bull Mountain by B. Panowich, and this one.<br />
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I really enjoyed The Mountain Can wait. It's from a Canadian author, and it has a huge sense of space which is very much informed by the Canadian landscape.<br />
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The story begins with a young man driving in the dark on a back country road when he hits a woman. In a blind panic he rushes off without helping her. It is a dramatic start to the novel, and the rest of the story is spent in slowly unravelling what has brought him to that point in time.<br />
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His father is a forester who manages a company of planters, young students mostly, who live in the mountains in the summer reforesting difficult terrain. Once he learns of his son's difficulty he returns to find and help him.<br />
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This is a powerful story two families trying to survive a tragedy. Leipciger writes very well, her descriptions of the Canadian landscape are beautiful and we become aware of the environment developing as much as the characters.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-49491381232166254162015-10-22T15:13:00.003+13:002015-10-22T15:13:21.250+13:00All the Light we cannot see | Anthony DoerrThis book is a Pulitzer prize winner, so it's a well known title from the last couple of years. It deserves all the accolades, as it is a beautiful story, well told.<br />
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A blind French girl and a German boy meet in occupied France, their worlds smashing into each other. From cultural and ideological differences arises a wonderful friendship.<br />
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Not much more needs to be said other than it is a fabulous read, one of the best for 2015.<br />
<br />Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-71123344663268484102015-09-02T10:20:00.000+12:002015-09-02T10:20:13.271+12:00Beyond the Sky and the Earth | Jamie ZeppaMore than anything , this book made me want to visit Bhutan. It sounds like an amazing country, the landscape dominant and breathtaking. Zeppa (Canada) was there in the 1980's teaching as part of a Government scheme. She was part of a group who taught in very remote mountain villages to establish a modern education system in Bhutan.<br />
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Zeppa writes well and her descriptions of the place and it's people are mesmerising. She takes a few months to fully acclimatise to the culture and the requirements of her teaching contract. Her observations of the Buddhist way of life are eye opening and her conversion to Buddhism follows from her time living there.<br />
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Zeppa engages with the locals on many levels, at the school, the clinic she has to run, the villagers and the expat community. Eventually she forms a romantic liaison and has a child.<br />
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I felt that the ending was very rushed. She describes in one paragraph, seven years of her life as a married woman and mother and mentions that 'due to cultural differences' she separates from her husband and returns to Canada. Given the whole book is about cultural observations, this leaves the reader a bit cold, wanting to know what kind of differences, what kind of experiences she had as a Western woman married to a Bhutanese man.<br />
<br />It is worth reading just to discover a bit more of this magical closed kingdom, and it will make you want to pack your bags and go!Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-75399326892980655582015-09-02T10:12:00.001+12:002015-09-02T10:12:05.655+12:00The Antipodean | Greg McGeeThis is a good read although the style is a bit patchy in the beginning. I noted that the narrative pertaining to the past was better than the modern day story of the young woman.<br />
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In this story a New Zealander and his daughter return to Venice where he spent a lot of time during the war. The story swaps time frames as we learn of the time he spent in the Italian Resistance, the people he is looking for in the present and the years after the war spent in New Zealand.<br />
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The stories are good, the writing frustrating at times, it lacks lyricism, nuances of language. At times it is a series of factual statements one after the other, as if it is recounting an occurrence, not taking us along a story.<br />
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Worth reading nonetheless.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-42001616376562405242015-08-03T11:00:00.002+12:002015-08-03T11:00:49.987+12:00Stalin's Daughter | Rosemary Sullivan"The extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva" is the whole title of this book. It is a superb read, and although it looks daunting at nearly 700 pages, it is so well written that it is a very quick read.<br />
This is the life of Svetlana Stalin. She grew up in the Kremlin and was part of very significant events in World history. She had contact with all the main players in Russian political life and in this book we read of how that influenced who she became.<br />
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Some parts are so extraordinary, it seems part of a novel or a movie script. Svetlana managed to defect to America in the 60's and even then, was unable to establish firm roots. She moved all the time, searching for something, someone and never quite reaching the fulfillment she desired.<br />
Svetlana died in 2011, so most of the material which is very well researched is based on interviews with friends and family, especially Olga, her American daughter.<br />
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Incredibly well worthwhile reading this book. Very well researched and written. Insightful.Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815195824710807627.post-66688625383307404702015-07-29T08:39:00.001+12:002015-07-29T08:39:13.831+12:00Chappy | Patricia GraceIt's been about 10 years since Grace wrote a novel, so I was excited to read this one. And it's one of her best. This New Zealand author has an amazing cultural heritage which she draws from and which add colour and depth to her novels.<br />
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This novel is set in the North Island of New Zealand, among an extended Maori family. Into this family, through WW2, comes a Japanese stowaway. They incorporate him into the tribe, he marries into it and becomes an integral part of the town and community.<br />
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As WW2 progresses, he is deported as an enemy alien. The story follows his wife's search for him and how she survives the era without him. She's a canny business woman who grows vegetables, buys an ailing bakery and mechanical workshop in the town and slowly turns around the fortunes of her family.<br />
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The narrative flows between the different characters as the story develops. It is engaging, we care about the characters and their fate and the richness of the Maori culture make this a great book.<br />
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I have read most of Grace's novels, and can highly recommend them. She is a unique voice and a fantastic storyteller. Aluminehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10805674202020612533noreply@blogger.com0