Author: Michael Soos

Summary:  How one village survives the Black Death which swept England in 1348.

Thoughts:  Well written, without the usual ‘old language’ which makes reading these historical sagas draining and difficult.  The story is told from various perspectives, with some unexpected tangents.  Apparently there’s a part two in the planning, which will explain the confusing and odd inclusion of the last chapter.  Please skip it if you don’t want to feel muddled and annoyed.  Until then, the book was captivating and interesting.  Knowing there’s a second book would have made me wait and read the two together.  Not quite as good as Geraldine Brooks’ Year of Wonders – also about a Plague and set in 1666.

Summary:  A teenager is kidnapped and the story is told through the eyes of the parents, brother, and detective.

Thoughts:  Set in Australia the story is possible, and creepy enough to keep me out of state forests.  Not sure about the ending – it all seems to fall nicely into place, despite the horrors of the kidnapping.  I think it could have been a bit more in-depth about the after-effects, but it seemed to gloss over this part, and focus more on the actual experience of the teenager during her capture.  Perhaps more detail would have been too much?  I sound unsure, and I am.  A good read, but probably wouldn’t recommend it.

Summary:  A bomb goes off on a bus full of English teenagers visiting France.  The main suspect is a fellow teenager, who disappears, and is then hunted down by a suspended police detective.

Thoughts:  A rather convoluted story with lots of sub-plots which I had no trouble keeping track of, but which meant none of them received any in-depth attention.  The book seemed to be trying to cover all bases for all people, and did most of them reasonably well, and others ended up being farcical.  But it was a good mystery, worth persevering with, but I won’t be rushing out to read her other books.

Summary:  The story of a girl in a small Chinese village whose livelihood revolves around growing and harvesting tea.  And how her life changes when she gets the opportunity to study in a big city.

Thoughts:  An interesting book, especially as Lisa See writes about the not-always-good traditions, thoughts and culture of small Chinese villages.  It’s an insightful read, particularly in how different the lives of these remote villages are to Western life.  Fascinating, worrying, sad.  Wonderful.

Summary:  A bushfire breaks out near a coastal town, resulting in the evacuation of the whole town, and one woman in particular.  The story then follows the life of this woman as she finds a new home and life after her home and town is totally destroyed by the fire.

Thoughts:  Most of it was totally unbelievable and far-fetched, but the writing was good, it held my interest, despite my muttering “really?  No way!” through several chapters.  Disappointingly predictable ending.  I’ve read all Anita Shreve’s books, and she seems to be running out of steam. 

Summary:  A wife admits to having a terminal illness resulting in her husband having to put aside his dreams of them retreating to an idyllic life on an island.  Their savings are spent on medical bills.

Thoughts:  Riveting, horrifying insight into the appalling American medical system.  Thank goodness we live in Australia and have Medicare.  I now get why Barack Obama wanted to bring in ObamaCare.  Mandatory reading for all Australians to make us grateful for what we have.

Summary:  Two brothers, one successful, one not, reunite when their nephew is arrested.  The story weaves around the relationship between three siblings and their lives to this point.

Thoughts:  I’d never read this author before, but Marieke Hardy raves about her on the ABC Book Club, and as my reading tastes are similar to Marieke’s (we both adore Anne Tyler), I thought I’d give it a try.  Thank you Marieke!  Lovely writing, old-fashioned, but just glorious to read.  The plot was almost an after-thought.  When the writing is this lovely, I just read, no matter what it’s about.