Kate is a Jane Austen impulse buyer who is afraid she'll somehow end up marrying Mr. Collins instead of Mr. Darcy. She'll settle for Mr. Rochester, even though he's a wanna-be bigamist and a Bronte creation - but don't let her catch you trash talking bilious Dunce Ignatius Reilly or some serious hair pulling will ensue.
She is a closet Grug fan and is currently supporting John Updike in the long-running BRTD Updike/Roth Wars.
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
PB $32.99
2009
An amazing re-creation of 1970's New York. As a man tightrope walks between the Twin Towers, the story of various characters who stand in the shadow of the walker emerge McCann brings a subtle vitality to every moment in each character's story, creating a unity in an otherwise isolated world. With an amazing ability to make moments stand still, McCann's style brings out the inexplicable nature of beauty and tragedy.
The Little Stranger
by Sarah Waters
PB $32.99
2009
I was looking forward to sharing a cold winter's night with this gothic ghost tale of Ms Waters as I'm a huge fan of her work and her magical ability to create a time and place. The Little Stranger is a psychological thriller and commentary on the social and class upheavals in post war Britain. Waters draws you into the dark world of haunted Hundreds Hall, capturing a decayed splendour which the Ayres family suffer, and in which local doctor, Dr Faraday becomes entwined in.
Butterfly
by Sonya Hartnett
2009
PB $29.95
Set in suburban Australia, Butterfly tells the intrusive and unnerving story of Plum Coyle, later dubbed Aria who is approaching her fourteenth birthday after which she hopes her old life, awkward body and best friends (or worst enemies) will be a thing of the past. Maureen seems to understand Plum's plight and she makes a coveted friend, yet that friendship is guided by other motives. Hartnett's dramatic observation of the transition from childhood to young adulthood and of family dynamics will appeal to an audience well beyond the age of the protagonist.
The Slap
by Christos Tsiolkas
2008
PB $32.95
The Slap is a novel that grabs you round the throat. A man slaps a child at a barbecue and the narrative branches out into the lives of several characters from teenagers to aging immigrants. While strands relate back to the incident as do opinions, the themes are challenging and for many uncomfortable. Racism, the family, parenting, generational conflict, violence, lust and the forbidden, Tsiolkas suppresses nothing in his brutal character portraits. This is a superb novel that is guaranteed to make you feel discomfort as you read of human vulnerabilities.
A Fraction of the Whole
by Steve Toltz
2008
PB$24.95
This may be epic in size, but Australian Steve Toltz's first book is so engaging and effortless to read that you'll be amazed at how immersed you'll be. Spanning generations and continents this is a story about heroes, sport, drugs barons, friendship, love, intellectualism and central to this is the relationships between Martin, terry and Jasper Dean. This is not an ordinary family by any means, but they are endearing and Toltz's writing is very perceptive of human nature and this makes the improbable believable.
The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay
by Michael Chabon
2002
PB $24.99
This is a magical, child like merging of the fantasy world of the comic book with that of the horrors of the holocaust. Chabon manages never to lose sight of the Nazi menace while putting it into completely new contexts, including magic, superheroes, Houdini-like escapes, golems, and comic book characters, and ranging from Prague to New York and Antarctica. It is a novel of huge scope--and it is hugely entertaining!
My favourite book
Man With the Golden Arm
by Nelson Algren
This novel is a gritty, fascinating read in which Algren intimately and realistically mirrors Frankie Machines' world of poverty, addictions and hopelessness. Here is Frankie, an urban bustler, with an ever loving wife at home and a cast of cranks, crackpots and nasty brutish people who are more than willing to put obstacles in the way of our anti-hero. The dead end jobs, run-ins with the corrupt authorities and the dread of being victimized, while harrowing and grim is not an easy book to put down.
My favourite author
Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson's piercing style and structure caught me in surprise when I first read 'Gilead' and was similarly repeated in reading her two other novels. I was drawn into a lifetime of emotions as I read the letter of Rev. John Ames to his son. Each sentence that Robinson writes is deliberately structured with care so that one contemplates every word in relation to one another, as well as appreciating the subtleties and astonishing nature of the story. The pace of Robinson's prose is quiet, but never meandering to the point of boredom. I always feel I could re-read any of her novels straight away.
What's beside the bed
Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway
This is Harkaway's first novel and was recommended to me by a fellow Neil Gaiman fan. It is a chaotic read blending various genres including humour, sci-fi, horror and mystery.
The Go-Between by LP Hartley
Hartley brilliantly evokes the curious involvement of a young boy in a scandalous affair. A beautifully written book, it is an interesting rationalisation of responsibility. It compares to McEwen's Atonement.
The Ethics of Climate Change by James Garvey
This books offers a brief introduction into the field of ethical philosophy and the scientific aspects of climate change before addressing questions of accountability.
2666 by Robert Bolano
This is definitely not the kind of book to read if you don't have the time. The novel is divided into five parts, all linked by varying degrees of concern with unsolved serial murders. From start its absorbing, it's also horrifying and preoccupied with suffering but not without humour.