tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85400979495577367522024-03-08T14:56:46.508-08:00Brouhahaˈbro͞ohäˌhä (n) A noisy and overexcited critical response, display of interest, or trail of publicity.Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-18973103949562236322013-06-02T02:25:00.002-07:002013-06-02T02:25:34.912-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I had to choose one adjective to describe Dennis Lehane’s
writing, I think it would be “devastating”. His style is devastatingly good,
honed until there’s not a spare word. His characters are flawed and even those
who are friends and lovers damage each other in a way that is devastating to
read. Most of all, his dark view of the world is devastating, because it has
that ring of truth that makes it impossible to believe this is fiction. Lehane
is never comfortable reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gone Baby Gone </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the another in the series featuring Patrick
Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, PIs whose patch is the dark side of Boston. This book
doesn’t stick to the drugs, guns and gangs of earlier books, but ventures into
the world of child abductions and the horrific things that people do to
children. After a child vanishes and Kenzie and Gennaro are brought in, the mystery
seems to be resolving itself around halfway through the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the plot does one of those mad hairpin
turns and suddenly the only thing that is certain is that the original solution
is no longer correct. Things gradually unravel and the results are devastating –
that word again – for all involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve heard arguments
that crime fiction is really where we, as a society, grapple with those heavy
issues to which there seems to be no solution. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gone Baby Gone, </i>like many of Lehane’s books, plays out the tension
between law and justice. Kenzie and Gennaro work with the police but the
temptation to mete out vigilante justice is always there, especially when
crimes against children are involved. Kenzie’s anguished searching of his
conscience reflects perfectly the moral fog we seem up against, when there is
no right answer and everyone loses no matter what happens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, this is not the kind of book you might read to cheer yourself
up, or to convince yourself that people are fundamentally good and kind. Lehane
clearly doesn’t think they are, and the book puts a convincing case that – as Kenzie
might say – we’ve screwed up our society good and proper. For all that, it’s a
brilliant book and a masterclass in crime writing. Like a car crash, you almost
can’t look away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-75463144770351884272013-05-24T03:38:00.000-07:002013-05-24T03:38:41.306-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m going to acknowledge the obvious right off. Yes, the
cover of this book features a large photograph of Sheryl Sandberg. Her job
title (COO of Facebook) is printed almost as large as the subtitle of the book
(Women, Work and the Will to Lead). Yes, she comes from a privileged background,
studied at an elite university and then managed to hitch a ride on two of the
brightest stars in the Silicon Valley firmament in Google and then Facebook.
Yes, this looks like a book and an author who, if not actually obnoxious, is certainly
going to enjoy preaching from her exalted pulpit to all the unenlightened rest
of us about how women should get ahead in life. Certainly the book has drawn
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/03/29/lean-in-sheryl-sandberg-reviews/2026285/">some rather vicious reviews</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As usual, first impressions are completely wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://pubimages.randomhouse.com.au/getimage.aspx?vid=474500&usehttp=0&cat=default&class=books&size=custom&resize=1&dpi=300&quality=100&type=jpg&width=1500&height=2500&id=9780753541630" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://pubimages.randomhouse.com.au/getimage.aspx?vid=474500&usehttp=0&cat=default&class=books&size=custom&resize=1&dpi=300&quality=100&type=jpg&width=1500&height=2500&id=9780753541630" width="198" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I picked up the book on the age-old principle of not judging
a book by its cover, and I haven’t been disappointed. In the first chapter,
Sandberg acknowledges her privileged background and points out that family
support played an important role in her success. She comes across as candid,
thoughtful and genuinely trying to help women navigate a workplace that in many
cases is structured to give their male peers an advantage. What’s more, the
book is easy to read, even entertaining at times. How can you not like a woman
who admits, “My first six months at Facebook were really hard. I know I’m
supposed to say “challenging” but “really hard” is more like it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I liked most about the book was Sandberg’s ability to
amalgamate scientific data with her own experiences and draw lessons that are
widely applicable. She talks about the guilt of taking her son to school and
forgetting to dress him in a green T-shirt for St Patrick’s day – observing “Guilt
management can be just as important as time management for mothers” – and goes
on to discuss a Stanford study showing that setting obtainable goals is the key
to happiness. She concludes “The aim is to have children who are happy and
thriving. Wearing green T-shirts on St Patrick’s day is purely optional.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s true that I’m squarely in Sandberg’s target audience:
young, female, and (sort of) climbing the corporate ladder. Not all of her
advice will be relevant to everyone, and she doesn’t pretend that it will be.
But what she is clearly passionate about is encouraging women to speak out,
step forward and (painful Americanism though it is) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lean in</i>. For that I think she can only be applauded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-57496152319871479202013-05-13T03:42:00.000-07:002013-05-13T03:42:30.090-07:00Book Review: Amazonia by James Marcus
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Amazonia purports to tell the story of five years in the
life of Amazon.com – a biography of the company from 1996 to 2001, if you
will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those were the years that James
Marcus spent as employee number 55 during the dot-com boom. It’s also,
partially and not very successfully, the tale of Marcus’ relationship with the
company.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Problem is, Amazon as a company is the brainchild of Jeff
Bezos. More than that – Amazon is Bezos and Bezos is Amazon, one of the only
people to ride out the .com boom and bust and still be captaining the ship
years later. Yet Marcus is able to throw very little light on the man behind the
company. His impressions are limited to his initial interview and the
occasional appearance at a company picnic or event. Without that insight into
its driving force, his sketch of the company becomes little more than a narrative
of its office politics, in which Marcus depicts himself as a guileless victim
of others’ manoeuvrings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The personal workplace narrative can work, as a genre – just
look at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil Wears Prada. </i>Unfortunately,
Marcus seems to have a somewhat ambiguous relationship with his former
employer. He’s not sure how he feels about the company that solved all his
financial problems, but also made him question his role as a journalist. He
dwells on these questions rather a lot. This may have been a better, or at
least more entertaining book if he’d decided Bezos was the devil and decided to
stick the boot in. Instead he seems to be hobbled by his journalistic ethics
and attempts to be fair to all the people he portrays. The result reminds me
why I usually prefer to read fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you’re looking for insight into how the .com boom came to
pass or why it failed, don’t look here. If you are interested in how Bezos
created a company from scratch that went on to dominate online retailing, there
is little to learn from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amazonia.</i> The
only reason to read it is to try and understand what it was like, on a personal
level, to be part of a crazy time when the world seemed to go mad. Marcus still
seems puzzled by the whole episode today and most probably, readers will be
left feeling the same way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-33010883840191955592013-04-23T03:26:00.000-07:002013-04-23T03:26:08.850-07:00On cliffhangers
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a concept more familiar from TV soapies than from the
world of books. In the final minutes of the final episode of the season, there’s
an explosion…the voiceover informs us someone will die…and those dreaded words,
“To Be Continued” hang on the screen. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhanger">The term “cliffhanger” is believed to have originated in relation to a work by Thomas Hardy</a>, where the main character
was left literally hanging from a cliff at the end of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
(Image courtesy of tvtropes.org - </span><a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CliffHanger"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">check out the page</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> for more on cliffhangers on TV)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But a cliffhanger is a tricky device. I’ve recently been
reading <a href="http://kyliechan.com/books/">Kylie Chan’s fantasy series</a> set in Hong Kong (beginning with The White
Tiger), and Chan strategically withholds quite a lot of relevant information. As
a matter of fact, I’ve finished the second, related trilogy, and I’m still
waiting to find out the answer to questions raised back in the first and second
books. And quite honestly, it’s now becoming annoying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cliffhangers can work in some contexts, there’s no doubt
about it. It’s not the hanging off the cliff that’s important though, it’s how
the questions are resolved. That thrill of anticipation sitting down to the
first TV show of the season can only exist because of the certainty that you’re
going to find out who died, or whodunit, or who was the secret lovechild of
whom. Otherwise, it would be quickly overtaken by frustration. We can tolerate
a certain amount of deliberate obstruction, but it can easily become ridiculous,
almost patronising towards the audience. Those writers who use cliffhangers
successfully tend to resolve the questions in the first chapter, and move on. <a href="http://rachelcaine.com/welcome/">Rachel Caine</a> springs to mind as an example.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then there’s the obvious point that it would usually
take more than a few months for a writer to finish and publish a book. Fans of
TV soapies might be waiting months, but fans of books could be waiting
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ll probably still buy the
book, but it does take some of the fun out of it if you have to go and re-read
the other books because you’ve forgotten what happened. And a cliffhanger that
has been forgotten is a sad thing, without any purpose at all. After all, there’s
only so long that someone can hang from a cliff without falling off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-6779492210302551762013-02-25T02:49:00.000-08:002013-02-25T02:49:06.397-08:00BOOK REVIEW: Breakdown by Sara Paretsky<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sara Paretsky’s been writing crime novels for more than
twenty years and she just keeps getting better and better. Despite this, there
will be a lot of people who won’t like the latest in her V I Warshawski
series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.saraparetsky.com/books/novels/breakdown/">Breakdown</a>. </i>In fact, I’d suggest
that viewers of Fox News and many readers of the Herald Sun are likely to find
themselves even more apoplectic than usual if they happen to pick up this novel, which features a right-wing shock-jock of a familiar kind.
No punches pulled here, and little attempt to persuade or convince – this is
Paretsky letting loose a mountain of built-up frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And you know what? I love that. I love that in a time when everything is workshopped and focus-grouped within an inch of its life to appeal to the broadest possible market, Paretsky was unafraid to alienate a few people and say
what she really thought. I’m sure there are plenty like me who thoroughly
enjoy the overdue pasting she gives the right-wing media, but I'm equally sure she has lost readers over the politics of the book. And I reckon she doesn't care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book is more than just a polemic, of course. It’s a
cleverly-crafted thriller and Paretsky shows she’s a sharp observer of both
trends and people – a twilight-esque ritual conducted by teen girls in a
cemetery kicks off the action. Warshawski is well-drawn and rounded, as
always, a character whose swagger masks a deeper insecurity. And the action
draws you onwards, never letting up from the first page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My one minor quibble is that the title seems to have
absolutely nothing to do with the content of the book. In fact, it’s one of
those one-word, crime novel titles that is so stereotypical it seems to have
been generated by a computer program. Similarly, although the cemetery on the book jacket, does reflect the initial scene, it's the kind
of gothic-esque scene in blue and black you’ve seen on a thousand covers before.
But in the end, the substance is there, and that’s the main thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breakdown
</i>is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-48826549169558649442013-01-28T01:16:00.000-08:002013-01-28T01:16:12.974-08:00BOOK REVIEW: The Little Book of Perfumes – the 100 Classics by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What to read when you don’t have time to read anything?
Turin and Sanchez somehow manage to pack a great deal of information and
entertainment in each short paragraph of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.profilebooks.com/isbn/9781846685194/">TheLittle Book of Perfumes</a>. </i>When you read a description of Thierry Mugler’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angel</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which notes that it has “the same relation to
your average sweet floral as the ten-story-high<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>demonic Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters has to your average
fireside toasted sweet,” you know exactly what they’re talking about. Somehow,
they have managed to make an esoteric world of bases and accords into an
accessible and fun journey which takes in history but is not above a bit of pop
culture either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book collects 100 favourite perfumes of the authors, the
ones they consider classics. Its slim 107 pages are distilled from a longer,
more exhaustive book. But credit to the publisher and designer, it is also a
beautiful object in its own right, a small hardback in gold and black which
perfectly reflects the elegance and refinement of its subject. This is one that
I picked up in the bookstore because it looked so beautiful, and then started
reading and ended up buying and taking home with me. I’m not a perfume
aficionado, far from it, but I can’t wait to find a shop and find out whether
Bulgari’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black</i> really does smell
like hot rubber, or whether I can detect the tea base in Tommy Hilfinger’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tommy Girl</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a deceptively simple recipe – take two authors with an
encylopaedic knowledge of and passion for their subject, who can also write (and
have the all-important sense of humour), and tell them to go for it. But if it
were really that simple, there would be many more books like this, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Little Book of Perfumes </i>wouldn’t be
the rare gem that it is. Buy it, and I guarantee you’ll never look at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>perfume the same way again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-31406226040621731002013-01-02T21:14:00.000-08:002013-01-02T21:14:39.501-08:00BOOK REVIEW: The Fine Colour of Rust by P.A O’Reilly (and) Southern Fried by Cathy Pickens<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You’ll always find plenty of people to complain about how Americanised Australian society is coming. We know American slang better than our own, we dial 911 in an emergency instead of 000 and there was a period when, every time we heard an Australian accent on TV (apart from the news) we got a perceptible shock. It’s a similar feeling to the shock of recognition I got on reading P.A. O’Reilly’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://paddyoreilly.com.au/back-to-main-site/the-fine-colour-of-rust/">The Fine Colour of Rust</a>.</i> The residents of the fictional outback town of Gunapan aren’t just recognisable archetypes, you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i> these people – one of them probably lives down the road, another owns the local shop, you probably have one or more in your family. O’Reilly brings them all to life with a wry humour and a rare sympathy. If this book doesn’t make you laugh out loud, it might well make you shed a quiet tear, although in the best Australian tradition it makes little and light of its occasional sentimentality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The contrast struck me immediately with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.cathypickens.com/Htm/SouthernFried.htm">Southern Fried,</a> </i>the book I read immediately after. The defining characteristic of the book is its location deep in South Carolina, which is vividly portrayed when Avery Andrews returns home after losing her job as a big-city attorney. There’s a touch of the clichéd <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>big city-versus-small town but it’s still interesting and there’s a reasonable mystery to anchor the whole thing down. However, the thing that really provokes my curiosity is whether I really “got it” – whether, in fact, it’s possible to “get it” from as far away place as Australia. Would Southern readers feel the same instinctive understanding of Avery as I felt about Loretta Boskovic? Was it really a true portrayal, or did it veer towards cliché? I can’t answer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To Australian readers, I highly recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fine Colour of Rust</i> – it’s as easy to read as the usual chick-lit, but with far more intelligence. P.A O’Reilly has really done a wonderful job in writing a truly original book. I can’t compare it with anything else out there at the moment, so you’ll have to read it by yourself and find out – trust me, you won’t regret it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t unhesitatingly recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Southern Fried </i>because my overwhelming feeling is that I’m somehow not qualified to judge. But if you have an interest in the area, or are looking for a decent, readable mystery that’s not too taxing, you should give it a go. And if there is anyone who comes from South Carolina who wants to give me their view on its accuracy or otherwise, feel free to post it in the comments!</span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-12036529539109939342012-12-27T01:16:00.000-08:002012-12-27T01:16:09.275-08:00Australian Women Writers' Challenge - the finish line
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Given it’s only a few days until the end of the year I
thought it was worth checking in with a post on the Australian Women Writer’s
Challenge. The goal was to read ten books by Australian women writers in 2012
and review four of them, and I’m happy to report that I’ve ticked all off the
list. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Reviews:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/aww-book-review-sharp-shooter-by.html"><span style="color: #8a2e2e; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sharp Shooter by
Marianne Delacourt</span></a> (urban fantasy – Stephanie Plum gets psychic) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/aww-book-review-spare-room-by-helen.html"><span style="color: #8a2e2e; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Spare Room
by Helen Garner</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (literary fiction - heartbreaking story of caring
for a cancer patient)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/aww-book-review-few-right-thinking-men.html"><span style="color: #8a2e2e; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">A Few Right
Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill</span></a> (historical crime – murder amidst the
political intrigues of 1930s Sydney)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/aww-book-review-true-stories-selected.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">True Stories - Selected Non-fiction by Helen</span> Garner</a> (non-fiction - significant pieces of Garner's non-fiction work from early in her career to the current day)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Read but not reviewed:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Cooking the
Books by Kerry Greenwood (crime – Corinna Chapman solves mysteries while
cooking & eating fantastic food)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Passion
by Dorothy Porter (non-fiction – poetic musings on the nature of passion in its
many guises)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">N</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">othing</span> but Gold by Robyn Annear (non-fiction –
life in the Victorian goldfields of 1852)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">T</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he hospital by the River – a Story of Hope by Catherine Hamlin
(non-fiction – a pioneering doctor’s work with fistula patients in Addis Ababa)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her Father's Daughter by Alice Pung (non-fiction - Pung revisits the family history mentioned in her first book but with a deeper, darker perspective)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Fine Colour of Rust by P.A O'Reilly (fiction - a wry look at life as a single mother in a country town)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once again, kudos to the organisers of the challenge. It has been a great experience to participate - occasionally sobering, when trying to find books by Australian women writers, but also hugely enjoyable to discover some great writing. Cheers!</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-32662799894937186972012-11-16T02:06:00.000-08:002012-11-16T02:06:30.378-08:00BOOK REVIEW: The Tomb of Zeus by Barbara Cleverly
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This has been a difficult and frustrating review to write.
Not because the book is particularly difficult or frustrating; in fact, I
romped through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Tomb of Zeus </i>in a
couple of hours. No, my problems stem from a persistent feeling that the book
was somehow unsatisfying. Yet I can’t put my finger on exactly why that was so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the second of Barbara Cleverly’s books that I have
read, after I bought her first novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Last Kashmiri Rose</i> about six months ago. I never reviewed it because I had
that same nagging feeling that somehow I couldn’t be entirely wholehearted in
my praise, but I couldn’t identify the problem either. So I let it go. But
after reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Tomb of Zeus </i>and
having the same issue, I have decided that most likely it’s not my mood, it’s
not the fact my reading was interrupted or I was too hot or cold or suffering a
virus. These are good books but something about them fails to come up to my (admittedly
high) standard of a great book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To start with the obvious – it’s not the setting. In both
books Cleverly’s research is meticulous and she has chosen an interesting
corner of the world to explore in Crete in the 1920s. I studied archaeology and
read quite a bit on Arthur Evans’ discovery of Minoan Crete pursuant to that,
and nothing in the book struck any false notes. Cleverly manages well to paint
a picture of the life of British expat archaeologists in that era, and does it
without layering the historical details too thickly. The research is clearly
there and well done but it sits lightly behind the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t think the problem lies with the plot either. A tidy
murder mystery, it sees intrepid female archaeologist Laetitia Talbot
investigating a suicide that may be murder. There are the usual closed circle
of suspects centring around the students and family occupying the villa, as
well as gradual revelations that all is not as it seems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s fairly standard stuff but original
enough to be interesting, if perhaps a little far-fetched at times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And that’s perhaps getting closer to the heart of the issue.
Even a far-fetched plot can be made convincing in the context of the novel –
look at Agatha Christie. Yet somehow, the book just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fails to convince.</i> This is particularly the case in relation to the
characters. While they are not stereotypes, it feels very much like they have
been dreamed up in service to the plot. I know that this is what all authors
do, but the best go beyond it, and at any rate the reader should not see the
joins and seams of a novel. Gunning, in particular, seems to exist solely as
support and love interest for Laetitia. I should also mention that the
references to their previous love affair seem rather unconvincing and the lack
of detail made me wonder if I had missed an earlier book in the series (I hadn’t).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Laetitia herself as a character also fails to arouse much
interest in the reader. I didn’t dislike her, but I didn’t like her especially
either. I have the feeling that she is a close alter-ego of the writer and in
this regard, Joe Sandilands in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Last
Kashmiri Rose</i> was far more interesting. The act of having to imagine
herself into a man’s skin may have given Cleverly the psychological distance
she needed to develop the character further. As it is, Laetitia can be summed
up as “feisty woman in a man’s world” – and really, not much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s perhaps a little unfair to judge a book for not being
brilliant, and additionally to give rather vague reasons for doing so. My
frustration largely results from the fact that I feel this could have been a
great book, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. All the ingredients are there, they
just needed some additional maturing and some additional spice. Instead, I’m
left with the feeling that the novel is just a tad underdone, and it’s a shame.
An entertaining enough read but not one to linger long in the memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-77140696009496509982012-11-06T00:01:00.000-08:002012-11-06T00:01:45.249-08:00BOOK REVIEW: A Drink Before The War by Dennis Lehane
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve heard people describe “muscular prose” before, but I
never really understood it until I read Dennis Lehane’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Drink_Before_the_War">A Drink Before the War</a></i>. The first book in a series now numbering
six, it’s satisfyingly <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hard-edged crime
fiction with a distinctive voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book, Lehane’s first, dates from 1994 and chronicles the
seedy side of South Boston, with gangs and violence an everyday occurrence. There’s
humour, but this is no comedy; it tends to be of the unrelentingly black variety.
Eighteen years and a hemisphere away, I’m in no position to judge if this is an
accurate portrait of the times, but it certainly feels authentic. The prose
itself is terse, descriptive, at times poetic but painting a sharp portrait of
tough times. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I have a minor
complaint, it is that in setting the scene Lehane occasionally gets carried
away and has his protagonist phrasing thoughts that are rather too poetic, but
as the plot picks up pace this ceases to be a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The narrator, Patrick Kenzie, is a P.I. in the hardboiled
tradition. He struggles to pay the rent, probably drinks too much, and has an
unrequited crush on his partner, Angie Gennaro. In turn, Gennaro still seems to
love her husband, referred to by Kenzie as “The Asshole”, who beats her up on a
regular basis. This is one of the things I loved about the book; as in life,
human relationships here are seriously complicated. Everyone’s a bit messed up.
Even at the end, Lehane avoids tying things up in a neat bow and questions and
doubts remain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The plot itself is tense and satisfying. There is some
explosive action as Kenzie and Gennaro go on the run from rival gangs, but the
violence never seems exaggerated or cinematic. The “War” of the title erupts, but
seems like the kind of thing that could be ripped straight from the newspapers,
particularly those of the era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the kind of gritty, well-written, fast-paced book
that gives crime fiction a good name. South Boston in the nineties is not a
world I’m familiar with, but I enjoyed a visit and I’ll be back for the rest of
the books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-35203504220162297932012-10-21T03:17:00.000-07:002012-10-21T03:17:37.738-07:00On Comfort Reads and Rex Stout
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are some books that you turn to when your nerves are
jangled, when worries press heavily on you or when everything suddenly seems
too hard. I think of them as “comfort reads.” No doubt everyone has a different
book, but for me it’s the collected Sherlock Holmes. I’m not sure whether it is
the orderliness and logic of the solutions, the sense that Holmes and Watson
exist in their own little time bubble on Baker Street where nothing ever changes,
or the fact that I have been reading and rereading them for years – whatever it
is, it works like nothing else to soothe and calm me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But to my surprise, I recently found another author who has the
same effect. Rex Stout is an amazingly prolific and amazingly successful author
of the past who has now faded into near-obscurity. His mysteries featuring the
obese Nero Wolfe and the wisecracking Archie are my new addiction, and I now
take every opportunity to visit that New York brownstone filled with familiar
characters, from Fritz the chef to Theodore the orchid man. Happily, as Stout
wrote 72 in the series, there are plenty of opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me be clear – the plots are varied, occasionally verging
on silly (the special golf club devised to fire a splinter into the wielder’s
heart was something of a lowlight). It’s not about the plot. Like all comfort
reads, it’s fundamentally about the characters. Both Wolfe and Archie are a
product of their time in having quite appalling attitudes towards women, but
otherwise they are both fascinating nuanced characters. Wolfe in particular is
a study in contradictions, so obese he can barely move but possessed of huge
mental agility, wise but at the same time sometimes petty, and generally
inclined to favour orchids over people. In contrast, Archie is charming, fun,
and owes a lot of his “jaundiced private detective” shtick to Philip Marlowe. The
other thing which anchors the books is the relationship between these two. Their
mutual attitude verges on dislike much of the time, but Stout makes clear that
both harbour a deep affection towards the other (if both would probably die
rather than admit it). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But they key to a comfort read is predictability. You know
that the characters are not going to grow, they are not going to evolve, they
will never move out of that comfortable brownstone. Loose ends will always be
tied up neatly. Archie will have fun along the way, and drink large amounts of
milk (something I’ve never quite understood). Wolfe will be irritable then
finally solve the case, with help from Archie. It’s like visiting a place you’ve
been many times before, but always enjoy, and enjoy more because you know what
to expect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ultimately, a comfort read doesn’t have to be great
literature. There is a place for books which make you feel warm and cosy inside
and convince you that the world isn’t such a bad place after all. And that is
what both Conan Doyle and Stout do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-3037458045310769062012-10-14T01:51:00.001-07:002012-10-14T01:52:33.309-07:00AWW BOOK REVIEW: True Stories: Selected Non-Fiction, by Helen Garner<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve just had one of those moments. You know the ones, where you close the final pages of a book and immediately have the urge to write fan letters to the author. Or, in my case, shout their name from the hilltops (or in my blog). It feels rather redundant in the case of Helen Garner, who hardly qualifies as undiscovered, but I can’t help myself. I’ve just finished <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Stories</i>, and the final story is such an indescribably beautiful piece of work that it made me cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s true, not all the pieces in the collection approach the level of the last piece. Some seem rather slight, and one extended piece devoted to a country landscape had me flicking inmpatiently over pages of description of paddocks. But it’s a collection both easy to read and entertaining, and Garner’s wry postscripts at the end are characteristically amusing. The pieces are arranged roughly chronologically to form a kind of incidental memoir, with Garner as naïve teacher growing into seasoned journalist and then accomplished writer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But between these there is literary criticism, comments on writing scripts for films, and many other interesting diversions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The final piece that moved me so much is a description of the maternity ward of a hospital, and events taking place there over a couple of days. While it’s true that the setting is already rich in drama, it’s Garner’s understatement that lets the beauty shine through without seeming overdone. The obstetrician who has worked herself to exhaustion has a coldsore on her lip, daubed with cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the best of Garner’s work, she creates a window we peer through to see a world just like our own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I grow up I want to write like Helen Garner. Enough said.</span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-14846162379974538212012-10-07T03:43:00.000-07:002012-10-07T03:43:47.236-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Logically, if you take two things you like and combine them, you should end up with something you like even more. You only need to look at the stratospheric popularity of YouTube mashups to see this rationale being played out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “literary mashup” genre has also taken off recently, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_and_Zombies"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> </a>to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln,_Vampire_Hunter_(novel)">Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter</a>, </i><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/book-review-god-of-hive-by-laurie-r.html">Laurie R King’s Mary Russell series</a> and others. From what I can see, the key ingredient is an enduring literary classic colliding with an unexpected genre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So two of my favourite things – PD James crime and Pride and Prejudice – should add up to something even more fabulous, right? Unfortunately, I have to report that this theory doesn’t always work. I don’t have any problem with someone playing with a literary classic (in fact, I was quite enthusiastic about the idea) but it seems that adapting someone else’s work is a fraught and troublesome exercise. A balance needs to be struck between being faithful to the original and building upon it, and the modification that will invariably follow from that exercise. To my disappointment, it’s a line that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pdjames/">Death Comes To Pemberley</a></i> seems to fail to walk with any degree of success.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To start with the positive – the short recap of the events of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i> at the start is an unmitigated delight. James does have a few pithy comments to make on the original, such as Elizabeth musing on whether she would have married Darcy if he was not rich. These were the parts of the book that I enjoyed the most.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The plot itself starts out well but quickly descends into implausibility. This wouldn’t be such an issue if the characters themselves weren’t so wooden. James has a fair head start by dealing with characters that readers already know and love, but unfortunately, she has failed to make them her own. At best, they give the impression of actors in a bad movie reading aloud their lines with little conviction. By the end – death for a crime novel – we don’t really care whodunit at all. The court case at the end goes on for far too long and we spend too much time in the head of Darcy, who is so honourable as to be completely uninteresting (I believe the scientific term is “stuffed shirt”). If nothing else, the book proves Austen’s sense in telling the story from Elizabeth’s perspective! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Sunday Times quote on the cover describes PD James as “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The greatest contemporary writer of classic crime” </i>and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. But ultimately, as James herself admits in her introduction,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mixing a crime story with Ms Austen’s world was always going to be a big ask. Perhaps there’s a fundamental incompatibility or perhaps the problem is that James was simply too respectful of the original and not bold enough. Whatever the cause, it’s hard to deny that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Death at Pemberley</i> is one of the less successful examples of the mashup genre.</span></div>
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Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-14238108789078082932012-09-27T04:25:00.000-07:002012-09-27T04:25:18.384-07:00BOOK REVIEW: The Bitter Seed of Magic by Suzanne McLeod<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am so tired of sexy vampires. Particularly ones whose
entire personality can more or less be summed up as ‘mysterious’. If they are
in a rather bland love triangle where the heroine is torn between the good guy
and the sexy vampire bad boy, I begin to lose the will to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So it’s not good news that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bitter Seed of Magic </i>by Suzanne McLeod features such a vampire
and such a triangle. I picked the book up looking for light entertainment, and
it is in fact the third in the serious (I confess, I read books out of order,
so sue me – that’s what happens when you’re taking your choice from what’s on
the library shelves). But unfortunately, I didn’t find in particularly
entertaining, and just now when my eye caught the quote on the cover calling it
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Fresh, unique and urban paranormal
fantasy at its best [sic]” </i>I nearly choked on my coffee. Although on second
thoughts the lack of grammar and punctuation in that quote is probably
something of a giveaway, either as to the quality of the recommending
publication or the quality of the editing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Which brings me to the editing of the book. I accept that
writers have tics, in fact we all have writing tics (you may have noticed one
of mine is overuse of the em-dash and brackets – probably punctuation overuse
in general, actually.) McLeod suffers from the same problem with the em-dash,
which I noticed but sympathised with. The one tic that did drive me absolutely
bonkers when reading this book was the italics. To give you an idea, I opened
it at page 5 and found no less than seven italicised words. One instance is,
fair enough, a foreign phrase of two words. The rest? Thought, crack, human,
looked and look. Apparently McLeod italicises anything that may have some
magical significance, then italicises some more for emphasis. But this is the
type of thing that a competent editor is supposed to fix, and I simply cannot
understand why no-one addressed this. It made me consider putting the book down
a few pages in, although I did eventually get used to it (sort of).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a shame in some ways because sexy vampires and stereotypic
character relatonships aside, there is some good world-building here. It’s
fundamentally an urban fantasy with strong celtic elements, as well as a few
vampires and witches for good measure. The main character, Genevieve, is
likable enough, although she does seem to have a disturbing tendency to throw
herself into bed with other members of aforesaid love triangle. It seems a
little odd, possibly because the sexual tension between them also seems rather
forced. I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but perhaps it’s something to do
with the fact that McLeod doesn’t provide reasons for Genevieve’s actions
other than that the men are, of course, sexy (and supernatural). In fact, the
lack of convincing backstory is another conspicuous hole in the plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ah, the plot. Let me just say, I was pretty sure my brain was
going to explode out my ears at some point, and not in a good way. I would bet
you whatever you like that McLeod is one of those writers who makes things up
as she goes along, because the way everyone turns out to be related to everyone
else at the end seems implausible to say the least. It rather suggests that
having dug herself into a rather deep and complicated hole some fancy footwork
was required to get herself out again. And unfortunately, by that point I’d lost
track of whom was related to whom and it didn’t all make that much sense
anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My verdict? It could have been better, but bad editing has
ruined what was in any case a not-very-original book. One for the
sexy-vamp-fans only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-86505317391386581652012-08-25T03:13:00.001-07:002012-08-25T03:13:34.156-07:00Australian Women Writers' Challenge - update<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was signing up to the
<a href="http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html">Australian Women Writers’ challenge</a>, although it was way back in January. My full-of-enthusiasm initial post is <a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/welcome-to-2012-and-australian-women.html">here</a>. Now that we’re more than
three quarters of the way through the year, I thought it would be a good time
to review progress (read – work out whether I need to panic). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There have been a few difficulties along the way. It turns
out that funnily enough, not many databases allow you to search by gender or
even nationality. When you find a book online or in a bookstore, it’s
relatively easy to work out if the author is a woman or not, but trying to find
if they are Australian often necessitates trying to deduce from the publisher
name or searching for clues in the biography.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So how am I tracking against the goal of reading at least
ten books by Australian women writers and reviewing four? I’ve listed them
below with genre and a potted summary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviews:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/aww-book-review-sharp-shooter-by.html">Sharp Shooter by Marianne Delacourt</a> (urban fantasy
– Stephanie Plum gets psychic) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/aww-book-review-spare-room-by-helen.html">The Spare Room by Helen Garner</a> (literary fiction
- heartbreaking story of caring for a cancer patient)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/aww-book-review-few-right-thinking-men.html">A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill</a>
(historical crime – murder amidst the political intrigues of 1930s Sydney)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Read but not (yet) reviewed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood (crime –
Corinna Chapman solves mysteries while cooking & eating fantastic food)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Passion by Dorothy Porter (non-fiction –
poetic musings on the nature of passion in its many guises)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nothing but Gold by Robyn Annear (non-fiction –
life in the Victorian goldfields of 1852)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yet to crack the spine:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Diving Belles by Lucy Wood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Beautiful Place by Malla Nunn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So in summary…not quite panicking yet but still more work to
do! One more review and four more to read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One other thing worth mentioning is that the Australian
Women Writers’ project <a href="http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/2012/08/stella-aww-tops-1000-reviews.html">recently passed the milestone of over 1000 reviews</a>. That’s
an absolutely mind-boggling number and a huge credit to Elizabeth Lhuede and
team. I’m proud to be part of such a worthwhile project which is really no
chore at all, discovering writers I didn’t know before and fantastic books. I've also been really impressed by the sheer diversity of books reviewed, in all genres, new, old, and classic. So
a big congratulations to the good ship AWW Challenge and all who sail in her!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-74919244890007543622012-08-19T04:47:00.000-07:002012-08-25T03:08:06.369-07:00On Book Covers<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Book covers are not something that I pay much attention to
any more. On my ereader they tend to render in boring black and white,
something to be skipped along with the acknowledgements and the content pages.
Perhaps I would pay more attention if they popped up whenever I closed the book
(like they do with a Kindle) but on the other hand, once the ereader goes into
its case there is nothing to see anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then recently I saw this cover for <a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/gold/prod9780340963449.html">Gold by Chris Cleave</a> and
I went – WOW. It stopped me in my tracks. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9780340963449/gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9780340963449/gold.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What a killer cover. I’m not entirely sure why I find it so
arresting, but it must have something to do with the bright colours and simple
design. I like it because it’s not too literal – the obvious thing for a book
called Gold would be to have a gold cover (der) or because it’s about two
Olympic cyclists, a picture of a gold medal, bike, or at least something
vaguely sporty. Hell, for all that the cover tells you, it could be a
non-fiction history of precious metals. Instead, the cover makes you curious,
and you pick up the book to find out what it’s about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The really funny thing is that this seems to be the Australian
cover only – the UK cover is a rather strange-looking picture of two girls in
silhouette. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.chriscleave.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Gold_11_14-196x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.chriscleave.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Gold_11_14-196x300.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s no way I’d be picking up that book. I’d think it was some
kind of regency romance (<a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/book-review-christmas-in-country-by.html">been there</a>, don’t want to go back). So they have this
dynamite Australian cover, and someone apparently decided, no, the annoying
literal one which is gold and has a picture of the two main characters
is a much better option. That’s publishers for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So apart for my obsession with Gold (which I haven’t yet
read), what’s to take out of this? Perhaps the book cover is not dead. Perhaps
we’ve just got bored with them because, frankly, lots of them are just not very
interesting. Perhaps in the future we’ll see a renaissance in book covers,
especially as colour ereaders become the norm. What do you think?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And for the pleasure of your eyes, I’ll leave
you with <a href="http://www.readings.com.au/news/the-best-book-covers-and-designs-of-2012">this link from Readings</a> showcasing the best covers of 2012. Enjoy!</span>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-79471879357312543642012-08-11T18:15:00.000-07:002012-08-11T18:15:41.956-07:00AWW BOOK REVIEW: A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After you’ve closed the cover it can take a few days to pull
free of a really fascinating story. You find yourself musing on the plot, the
characters and the setting, and daydreaming about it in absent moments. For all
my love for the crime genre, this doesn’t usually happen with crime novels –
the main reason that they are my preferred weekday read. However, Sulari
Gentill’s historical crime novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Few
Right Thinking Men</i> absolutely captured my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what was so unusual about this book? First off, there is
the setting. I’ve always thought that Australian history was under-utilised as
a setting for historical crime novels, and the thirties are probably one of the
least-known eras of Australian history. I would have thought that they are a
period not exactly ripe with dramatic potential, except that Gentill so clearly
proves me wrong. The rising tensions between the communists and early fascists,
played out in the context of a squattocracy with conservative leanings and a
bohemian fringe with communist sympathies, make for a gripping backdrop. It’s
extra fascinating because you can recognise a cultural discourse that still
continues today between left and right in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But of course a setting is nothing without a plot and
characters, and these are especially key for crime novels. On the point of
characters Gentill really excels. The main character, Rowland “Rowly” Sinclair,
is a member of a wealthy squatting family, turned artist. He’s rejected the
values he grew up with and almost succeeded at becoming a through-and-through
bohemian – except that he still feels the tension of trying to fit in with the artists
who have come to live in the family manor. His relationship with his family is
hardly easier, as he tries to maintain his independence while not irreparably
damaging the relationship. A part of him still seems to long for the gracious country
lifestyle of his brother Wilfred, although the two brothers disagree on almost
everything. When a murder in the family brings politics into the mix, Rowland
and Wilfred seem likely to end up on different sides of the brewing conflict. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In terms of plot, this is perhaps not a classical crime
novel. While it starts out with a murder, it soon devolves into an examination
of the murky politics of the time. The murderer is discovered in the end, but
the book avoids the trap of tying up all the loose ends with a too-neat
bow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I do wonder if the plot
suffers a bit from the paradox Gentill identifies in her comments at the back
of the book: “I found I didn’t need to fictionalise the events of the era…the
facts were fascinating and ludicrous enough.” The truth may be stranger than
fiction, but ironically it is sometimes less believable than pure invention.
While the setting was impeccably drawn and Gentill’s historical research
meticulous, I think that the book may have benefited if she took more creative
licence with the facts. A final confrontation with Campbell, in many ways set
up as the villain of the piece, would have given weight to the ending.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing I enjoyed most about the book, the thing that kept
me thinking about it for days, was that it gave me an insight into Sydney in
the thirties that I’ve never had before. You can read a list of facts, even a
historical document, but to get that sense of what it was to be there – that idea
of how people thought, acted, the politics of the day, the class divisions at
work – you need a book like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Few Right
Thinking Men</i>. This is where fiction has a huge advantage over non-fiction,
yet the best books still manage to educate as well as entertain. The phrase
“bringing history to life” is overused to the point of cliché, but this is
truly what Gentill manages. It’s a fantastic achievement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-15285965238905336432012-08-04T03:21:00.000-07:002012-08-04T03:21:14.062-07:00On literary novels with plots (and fancy words)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s always hard to go against the tide of critical acclaim
and declare that in your opinion, the emperor has no clothes. Although <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_913045329">Chad Harbach’s
</a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandartsdaily/chad-harbach27s-the-art-of-fielding/4030314">The Art of Fielding</a> </i>has been generally
well-reviewed, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/07/19/english_teacher_i_was_wrong_about_hunger_games/">on Salon.com Brian Platzer lays into it in rather devastating fashion</a>. In effect, he accuses it of being a genre wolf dressed up in literary
sheep’s clothing, a rather original and interesting accusation with several
layers. As I haven't read the book myself I'm not in a position to agree or disagree, but I think it's particularly interesting to unpack some of the layers of that accusation.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First off, of course, I need to make the point that I strongly
disagree with Platzer’s disdain for genre novels. As any readers of this blog
will know, I have broad reading tastes, and in my opinion, genre authors such
as <a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/book-review-fear-not-by-anne-holt.html">Anne Holt</a> or <a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/search?q=donna+leon">Donna Leon</a> are at least as talented as more “literary” authors.
Further, Platzer’s scorn for page-turning plots probably reflects the fact that
he’s never tried to write one – I suspect they are harder than they look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And honestly, what’s the problem with a literary
novel with a plot? It reflects a point of view that I thought long-discredited,
that a “worthy” novel can’t possibly be enjoyable to read. Surely there are
many authors who have proved that point of view to be wrong. The recent Miles
Franklin win by <a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/search?q=peter+temple">Peter Temple's Truth</a> was a fine example, as are many books by such
literary stars as Kate Grenville or Alex Miler. The idea still rears its ugly
head occasionally of course, like the<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booker-prize/8829213/Is-the-Booker-Prize-really-being-dumbed-down.html"> controversy over the Booker shortlist afew years ago deemed too “readable,”</a> but I would suggest it’s gradually dying
out as the publishing industry realises it needs to cater to readers and not
the other way around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So after completely disagreeing with Platzer on this point I
then found myself in the strange position of agreeing with him on another. I’m
sure he phrased it better (and I do recommend you go read the article) but in
sum, he pointed out that fancy words and literary allusions do not
literature make. I wholeheartedly agree. While I wouldn’t touch the hot potato
of what can and cannot be deemed “quality literature” (this blog does have a
lot of quotation marks, doesn’t it?) I do think that authors sometimes think
that the more obscure the vocabulary, the more literary prizes the book is
likely to win. Or perhaps that’s unkind; I’m not really suggesting that authors
write with literary prizes in mind, rather than they are unconsciously
influenced by the way that they think a literary novel is supposed to sound. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My view is the exact opposite. In a really good novel, I
think the language should be clear as glass, and a reader should not notice it
at all. Stopping to wonder about the meaning of a word or unusual word choice
jolts you out of the novel. Looking at the literary novels on my bookshelf, the
writers I admire all write simply – if you asked me about the way they wrote, I
wouldn’t be able to tell you about anything except the story. Siri Hustvedt, Alex Miller, Salman
Rushdie and Helen Garner have all written prize-winning novels without needing
fancy words, and their work is somehow the more powerful for its simplicity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One final thought – for all that I disagree with many of his
points, Platzer did a fine job of writing a well-supported, thoughtful negative
review of The Art of Fielding, a topic I discussed on this blog recently. Most
importantly, it gave me a good idea of whether I would or wouldn’t like the
book (a definite no – any book that uses the word “synecdoche” during a sex
scene will definitely be struck off my reading list). As a review, there is
much to admire in the article. And having ended up reviewing a review I had
better finish on that particularly meta note.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-48087030027615612302012-07-29T14:40:00.001-07:002012-07-29T14:40:38.304-07:00BOOK REVIEW: I Don’t Know How She Does it by Allison Pearson<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are plenty of “should”’s in the so-called Mommy Wars, as well as plenty of “can” and “can’t”. Women can have it all. Women can’t have it all, or they can but not at the same time. Women should demand equality. Women should accept reality and take a lesser position while their children are small. No wonder your head starts to spin as soon as you get to a certain age and contemplate the effect that having a family might have upon your career.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before you run away and hide under your doona I should point out that I don’t have any of the answers, and I don’t claim to. Many of these arguments have merit and ultimately women will make choices based on their own career and family circumstances. That’s why I appreciate contributions to the debate which don’t contain “should”, “can” or “can’t”, but really say “Here’s how I dealt with it, maybe it might be helpful to you in the future.” <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-can-8217-t-have-it-all/9020/">Anne-Marie Slaughter’s recent (and controversial) article in The Atlantic</a> fell into this category (despite the deceptive title). I would put <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_954663017">Allison Pearson’s </a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.allisonpearson.co.uk/">I don’t know how she does it</a> </i>in the same category.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s old news now, but the book was certainly controversial when it was published in 2002. In my view, that’s due to Pearson’s effort to portray honestly the struggles that women face. It may be fiction, but it’s fiction pretty clearly based on fact and as we all know, the truth can be shocking. Even those of us without children will recognise elements of Kate’s high-stress workplace, and the difficulty of carving out time for family. We might hear an uncomfortable echo in Kate’s efforts to explain to her husband how she really couldn’t refuse to take on extra work, and her frustration at his failure to keep things running smoothly at home. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, there are elements of humour as well. The book opens with Kate “distressing” shop-bought mince pies so that they look suitably home-made. Pearson writes with a light touch and a good dollop of absurdity – which is even more funny because it’s generally only just beyond too-close-to-home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take for example her thoughts on being late: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It is possible to get away with being late in the City. The key thing is to offer what my lawyer friend Debra calls a Man’s Excuse. Senior managers who would be frankly appalled by the story of a vomiting nocturnal baby or an AWOL nanny… are happy to accept anything to do with the internal combustion engine” </i>(that is, the car broke down). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dinner party with the arty childless friends is also gold. </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you don’t like Kate’s tart voice or have no interest in the predicament of working mothers, you probably won’t enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you are (or might someday become) one of those working mothers, you’ll find a lot to like and a lot to laugh at. Most of all, I enjoyed that this was a book that dealt honestly with the difficulties involved in balancing work and family life without trying to provide answers. It’s definitely not a self-help book, although it’s perhaps not entirely fiction either – really, this is a book which broke out from the crowd and created its own genre. I hope one day it will be a valuable historical document of the struggles which women used to face (and face no more) but in the meantime, it’s worth reading for the guilty laughs if nothing else.</span></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-63129130960367631632012-07-22T20:38:00.000-07:002012-07-22T20:38:59.381-07:00Holiday reading<div>
I had the best of intentions, truly. I was going to get ahead of schedule and write some blogs to be posted while I was away soaking up the sun. But funnily enough, things didn't quite work out like that in the mad last minutes before heading off. I have similar good intentions of posting while away (if my patience holds out while pecking letters on a tablet keyboard) but I recognise this may be somewhat optimistic. So instead, I will post my holiday reading list. Hopefully, this has the double benefit of making you salivate while imagining all the juicy reviews to come, while simultaneously obliging me to actually write said reviews. You'll notice it is an interesting combination of high brow (which I really only have the energy to tackle on holidays) and low brow (because they are called 'airplane novels' for a reason).<br />
So far I have made my way through:<br />
Tiziano Terzani, Goodnight Mister Lenin - fascinating book about the effect of the fall of the Soviet Union from a writer who deserves to be better known<br />
Helen Garner, The Spare Room - absolutely stunning, why did no one tell me how brilliant this book is before now?<br />
Allison Pearson, I don't know how she does it - Food for thought, if somewhat depressing for a woman of my age.<br />
Kerry Greenwood, Cooking the Books - Always fun spending a couple of hours with Corinna Chapman (though probably not advisable when hungry)<br />
I am also planning to revisit a few old friends, like Pride and Prejudice and The Road to Coorain. Not to mention the $180 worth of ebooks waiting for attention on my ereader (yes, there was a small online shopping spree at readwithoutpaper.com before I left). In summary, I'm hoping to catch up on enough reading to keep the blog turning over for a while!</div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-20633631419064095992012-07-20T09:43:00.001-07:002012-07-20T09:43:47.550-07:00AWW Book Review: The Spare Room by Helen Garner<div><p>For anyone who has had a loved one die of cancer, Helen Garner's The Spare Room is likely to be a painful read. Without knowing the background, I would guess that Garner must have witnessed the difficulties of dealing with a terminally ill person at first hand to have captured such a level of excruciating detail. This book is one of the few I have read which rings absolutely true, crisp and clear in every detail without unnecessary flourishes. Despite the weighty subject matter, it reads easily and it's only at the end that you realise what a small and perfect miracle of a book this is. Garner is truly a master of her craft.</p>
<p>The premise of the book is simple. Helen's friend Nicola, in the final stages of cancer, comes down from Sydney to stay in her spare room while receiving treatment. As so many do, Nicola pins her hopes on alternative therapies and refuses to admit that she is dying. Helen's desire to help her friend is gradually worn down by Nicola's desperate neediness. It's a dilemma familiar to anyone with a seriously ill family member or friend - how to cope when your own needs conflict with the needs of the ill person, and how to deal with the guilt of taking time for yourself.</p>
<p>There's little I can say about this gem of a book, no criticism or suggested improvements. In my view it's a modern classic and deserves to be better known. I do believe that seeing your experience depicted in fiction can be healing and it says something about the quality of this book that I would recommend it to those who have dealt with a terminally ill friend or family member. Perhaps not at the time, or immediately afterwards, but down the track when wounds are not so fresh it can be immensely comforting to know you are not alone. In the end, all any of us can do is our best, even if we tend to expect more of ourselves. This is the heart of the story told so quietly and powerfully in this stunning book.</p>
</div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-11466047897311519102012-06-20T15:11:00.001-07:002012-07-22T20:42:17.039-07:00On negative reviews<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post was kicked off by <a href="http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/23975256627/made-rebloggable-by-request-on-criticism">something Neil Gaiman had written on his Tumblr site.</a> He kindly made it rebloggable so I am posting it here in full:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think authors are allowed to point out errors of fact in a negative review, if they <em>really</em> have to and it’s important to them (errors of the “I understand that the reviewer feels this is the worst account she’s ever read of the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648. I would like to point out that one reason for this is that my novel is actually set during the Hundred Years’ War, which occurred from 1337 to 1453…” variety.) And otherwise we should swear loudly to ourselves, probably startling our cats, then we should keep our mouths shut, and go and write other things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because I think it’s a good thing that people don’t like everything we do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I mean that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do not write books that everyone will like. Human beings like different things. If human beings did not like different things — if there was unanimity of opinion on what was good and what was bad, what books were enjoyable and what weren’t, then the odds are that I would starve. My books and stories are not to everyone’s taste, which is why I am so pleased that all people do not share the same taste. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some people like what I do. Some people don’t. The ones who like what I do are the ones who keep me fed, and to them I am grateful; and the ones who do not, well, fair enough. There is no letter that I could write to a website, nothing I can ever say that would make someone like a book that they do not like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Occasionally time can do that, and experience, and life, and people will come to me and tell me how much better <em>American Gods</em> got during the ten years between them reading it at sixteen and at twenty-six. But that’s a different thing entirely.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Opinions are true. But they are only opinions. Once you’ve written a book, it belongs to everyone, and they are all allowed to have opinions, and the spectrum of opinions is the spectrum of humanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes I write things I am not satisfied with, and every now and then I run into people who think that thing I did that I didn’t like was the best thing in the world. I feel more uncomfortable around them than I ever do reading a scathing review.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This kicked off some thoughts of my own about this blog, and what I am trying to do with it. Because while, like everyone else, I had a chuckle at the <a href="http://hatchetjoboftheyear.com/">'Hatchet Job of the Year'</a> award, I'm still on one level deeply uncomfortable with something that could be read as unjustified vitriol in any other context. Perhaps it's my training as a lawyer, but I try to keep things professional (even thought I am not, in fact, a professional book reviewer).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So how do I manage books that I don't like on this blog? In three ways.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">1. Don't review them.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This goes back to the principle of, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Most of the time, if I can't say anything interesting, or constructive, or in fact anything positive at all about a book, I won't review it here.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. Make sure criticism is justified</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Criticism needs to be supported, usually by examples. In addition, it's helpful to the reader, because it gives them an idea of whether they are likely to agree. If i say "I hated this book," the reader is left in the dark as to why. If I say "I hated this book because the characters were flat, the plot dreary and the whole thing morally dubious" it at least gives them some clue. If I am able to say "I hated this book because the characters ranged from dumb blonde to stereotypical soccer mum, nothing happened in the first 100 pages and the characters never left their apartment," even better.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">3. What would I say if I met the author in person?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the "don't say behind someone's back what you wouldn't say to their face" principle. Given the nature of the internet, it's entirely possible that someone will end up coming across a review of their book - if not now, then years down the track. In general, I tend to have more sympathy for writers who have obviously done their best, even if the results have some flaws (see, for example, <a href="http://www.brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/aww-book-review-sharp-shooter-by.html">my review of <em>Sharp Shooter</em> by Marianne Delacourt</a>). I reserve my sharpest criticism for those who should know better, like <a href="http://brouhahababy.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/book-review-bird-cloud-memoir-by-annie.html">Annie Proulx with Bird Cloud</a>). And yes, that was a very critical review, but believe me, I agonised over whether I should go that far. I tried to imagine other readers' who might enjoy the book and couldn't. I finally decided that I was happy to stand behind the statements I made in that review. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">All of the above notwithstanding, the biggest laugh I've had this year came from <a href="http://cassandraparkin.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/adventures-in-trash-fifty-things-that-annoy-me-about-fifty-shades-of-grey/">this review of Fifty Shades of Grey.</a> I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, and other people in the office were looking at me very oddly. If you haven't yet - go read it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In summary? Try to not let the anonymity of the internet lead you to say things you wouldn't say in other contexts. Be nice. And if you have to go for the hatchet job, be sure they really deserve it!</span>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-57582363244772838322012-06-11T04:14:00.001-07:002012-06-11T04:14:35.273-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Damsel in Distress by Carola Dunn<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Damsel in Distress </i>can
be summed up in four words as, “Famous Five Grow Up.” Apart from the fact that
there aren’t actually five of them and the growing up seems to happen in some
respects but not others, those who fondly remember Blyton’s jolly adventures
are likely to find Dunn’s novel right up their alley. I can’t say that I count
myself in their number. Much as I would like to enter into the spirit of the
thing, I can’t help harbouring suspicions of anyone who can use the word “spiffing”
apparently without irony.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The plot could come straight from Blyton, if you add twenty
years or so to the main characters’ ages. Phillip, Daisy’s likeable but
somewhat dimwitted pal, falls for an equally likeable but equally dimwitted American
heiress. The heiress is kidnapped in mysterious circumstances. Phillip calls
his investigator friend Daisy for help and together with a further bunch of
pals, they scour the surrounding countryside with the idea of rescuing the
damsel in distress. It’s probably not giving too much away to suggest that the
result is a daring rescue and just desserts all round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You may at this point have some inkling of why I referred to
growing up in some respects but not others. There are token nods to class
issues, as well allusions to the fact that some of the characters may, at some
point, but let’s not dwell on this for the sake of delicacy, be having sex.
However, the sheer improbability of the plot is hard to overlook. Somehow, I
was left with the impression that Dunn just adores these characters so much
that she can think of nothing better than a thin device to have them all
together having jolly good fun solving a mystery in the English countryside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if the fact
that Dunn appears to be American has anything to do with her frothy view of
English rural life – as Agatha Christie could tell you, there are plenty of
dark secrets behind the bucolic idyll. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
comparing Daisy Dalrymple to Miss Marple is like comparing Edward Cullen to
Dracula. If it came to a fight, I know who I’d be backing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s nothing wrong with a light read, and perhaps it’s
simply that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Damsel in Distress</i> is not
my preferred form of escapism (for the record, I always preferred <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mr Galliano’s Circus</i> to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Famous Five</i> and would have happily given
up both for a new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Swallows and Amazons</i>
novel). Others may find it more plausible, and the characters more likeable,
and be less inclined to laugh at the (no doubt historically accurate)
vocabulary (but seriously, are there people out there who can read “oh right
ho, pip-pip” without at least suppressing a smile?). I might as well go with
the theme and use a very English metaphor - it’s just not my cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-47590594190299736252012-04-24T23:19:00.000-07:002012-04-24T23:19:51.949-07:00BOOK REVIEW: The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You might think that a memoir of persecution in Vietnam, of
desperate flight on a leaky boat and a struggle to build a new life in
Australia, is hardly laughing material. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.anhdo.com.au/anh-do-autobiography.php">The Happiest Refugee</a> </i>would prove you wrong. Not only did Anh Do and his family
live through those harrowing experiences, but he grew up to be a comedian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the most unique things about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Happiest Refugee </i>is the style of the writing. It gave me the
eerie sensation that I wasn’t reading a book at all, but rather listening to
Anh Do tell the story, or perhaps<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>watching him on stage. In fact, to some extent the whole book feels like
an extended version of a comedy routine, often digressing from the story to
cover some incidental event and leading up to a punchline. You get the
impression that making jokes is so much a reflex, Do can’t help himself. There
are no poetic descriptions of the shadows of leaves on water here, no more than
you would hear them down the local pub – Do gives it to us direct. I found this
distinctive voice to be one of the strengths of the book, although some may find
it an uncomfortable reading experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The events covered in the book are in any case dramatic
enough without needing further ornamentation. His family’s escape from Vietnam,
the attacks by pirates on their boat and the difficulties of adjusting to a new
country provide plenty of material. In addition, Do provides the book with a
strong emotional core by delving into his relationship with his father, one
that is conflicted at the best of times. His journey from hero-worship of his
father, to effectively throwing him out of the house as a teenager, to a
reconciliation many years later, binds the book together and Do’s honesty is
impressive. It must have been tempting to avoid writing about issues that are
clearly still sensitive but Do holds little back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Because of its simple style, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Happiest Refugee</i> is likely to appeal to reluctant readers as
well as fan’s of Do’s comedy. I have the feeling that male readers may enjoy it
more than female (who may prefer <a href="http://alicepung.com/blog/">Alice Pung’s</a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unpolished Gem</i> which deals with similar territory) but <a href="http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781742372389">the awards it has won</a> show that it also has wide appeal. Do should be congratulated for a
dramatic tale told simply and well, and in a distinctive voice that is all his
own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540097949557736752.post-2182171559991283442012-04-06T21:42:00.000-07:002012-04-06T21:42:12.130-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Christmas in the Country by Carola Dunn<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It happened quite by mistake, while I was searching for a historical mystery recommended in The Age newspaper a few weeks ago. I rather like novellas so when I saw that the author had written a Christmas-themed book consisting of two novellas I thought it would be a good introduction to her work. Like a plum pudding or a hot cross bun, a Christmas-themed mystery goes down well at any time of year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately, I must have taken a wrong turning at some point, and rather like Alice through the looking glass or the children tumbling through the back of the wardrobe, I found myself in a strange and mysterious place. I found myself reading a Regency Romance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rather like a tourist in a strange country, I was quite charmed and delighted by the strangeness of it all. Look, the heroine’s father is a country squire! They are going to a ball! She’s wearing a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fur muff! </i>In fact, starting with the muff, there was an entire new vocabulary to learn, most of it consisting of various terms for clothing. I have no idea what a “striped lutestring” or “peach sarsnet” are, except that the heroine was considering wearing them, before she decided on the “deep-rose velvet carriage dress, trimmed with black satin” and accompanied by a “Parisian bonnet of black velvet lined with rose sarsnet and embellished with a wreath of roses about the crown.” As you can no doubt guess by now, it appears that the world of regency romances (at least in terms of their readers) are a firmly male-free zone. The repeated descriptions of clothing might have been enough to send me to sleep, if I hadn’t had so much entertainment trying to figure out what the words actually meant and whether sarsnet was actually a kind of net or not.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other characteristic of the regency romance (from my highly scientific venture into the genre) appears to be the obsession of the female characters with a state known as “being compromised.” As you can tell from the passive construction, this is a dreadful fate that happens to women at the hands of handsome rapscallion types. It apparently represents a kind of social death. Unfortunately, it also appears to be rather difficult to avoid, as simply being alone with a man in a secluded setting could qualify. Therefore, the characters are generally doomed to cast lustful glances at each other from afar, or restrain themselves to polite conversation about the weather. That is, until some crisis precipitates them into each others’ arms and they begin planning the wedding.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you may have gathered by now, I found the whole thing rather hilarious. I am clearly not qualified to make any comments on the quality of the books in general – Dunn’s works may be fine examples of the genre or otherwise. I could make some comments about how the fetishisation of this period in history with its impossible restrictions on women’s lives represents a worrying trend, but in order to do that I’d have to take the whole thing seriously. I can’t quite seem to manage that feat. If this rings people’s bells, I wish them good luck with their genuine Valenciennes lace and Yule logs. One visit to the land of regency romance has been more than enough for me.</span></div>Isobelle Clarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03276622078016169353noreply@blogger.com0