Book Review Articles

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.

Summary: Twelve-year-old Alice meets Bigfoot Millie one night and the two become friends, despite their disparate lives, upbringing, and social standing.

Thoughts:  A slightly unexpected choice, I admit.  I’d read all her others and just put this on the reserve list at the library.  When I picked it up and saw it was a Young Adult, I almost put it back.  I’m glad I didn’t.  It was cute.  Unusual, thought-provoking, lovely.  I’m hoping there’s a follow-up – the end lends itself to a continuation.

Summary:  Follows the lives of four classmates, particularly the tormented Jude, and how the others relate to him and each other.

Thoughts:  What a harrowing, difficult, disturbing read.  But un-put-down-able.  And highly recommended.  It won’t be for everyone, but the story is incredible.  The characters vary from unlikable and shallow to heart-breakingly tormented.  And you just want to climb into the book and give Jude a hug.  You’ll probably cry.  I didn’t, but I could see how people would.  It stays with you for weeks after, and unlike me, I couldn’t just pick up the next book once I’d finished this one.  I had to give it a few days to settle.  Haunting.  Brilliant.  Slightly scared to read her other novel, The People In the Trees.

Summary:  A group of people meet at a house party in England the early 1930s.  The novel follows their diverse lives over the next few years.

Thoughts:  Caro Fraser writes elegantly.  She’s English.  I love English authors.  They seem to have a fantastic command of the language, and describe things so beautifully.  The guests at the house party are diverse, their lives inter-twine, the ending is in some cases predictable, in others not, and the book was a glorious escape, without the fluff and superficiality.

Summary:  Magda’s memoir of her early life, including her father’s activities during the Second World War.

Thoughts:  I didn’t want to read this book, given the war stories and the Polish father connection.  I have awful memories of mine, and steer clear of anything war-related.  But the book was on my Book Club reading list (and from memory I think I actually selected it – mainly to see what all the rave reviews were about).  I was engrossed from the first few pages.  Magda writes so well, her stories are interesting, but not long-winded.  I didn’t know much about her, not being a TV watcher, but she has had such an interesting life.  I would have liked more on her recent years, but perhaps that’s coming in a follow-up.  A surprisingly wonderful read, and an easy read, given it’s a memoir.

Summary:  Mute Edgar lives with his parents and several dogs on a farm.  A series of tragic events lead Edgar to flee into the mountains with three dogs while he plans how to right the wrongs which led to his father’s death.

Thoughts:  Beautiful descriptions, and very unusual protagonist, and story, and not knowing how it’s going to end kept me reading with bated breath.  What a shame this is David’s only novel.  I’ve been waiting for years for a follow-up, but he probably knows that if you’ve created a masterpiece, it should stand alone in all it’s glory.