Portia is studying English Literature at Macquarie University. Her literary pretensions are consistently undermined by her attraction to popular culture.
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
2006
PB $32.95
In the nineteenth century when a woman like the spoilt Rosamund Vincy can so easily suffer nervous strain and her childhood friend Mary Garth believes that ' husbands are an inferior class of men, who require keeping in order,' relationships are governed by propriety and misunderstandings abound. Eliot has superbly depicted the provincial town of Middlemarch , drawing the reader into the intricacies of a variety of lives - from the admirably idealistic Dorothea Brooke to the evangelical banker Mr Bulstrode. Eliot's novel provokes the consideration of the political and personal relationships between characters, who even by the end of this lengthy novel this reader did not feel ready to leave behind.
Twelve Sharp
by Janet Evanovich
1998
PB $32.95
As the title suggests, this is the twelfth book in the Stephanie Plum series, in which Plum is a mostly incompetent bounty hunter torn between the ruggedly handsome Morelli and the ruggedly handsome Ranger. Silly yes, but I started the first book under obligation and when I next looked up I was finishing Four To Score. By the time the formula starts to wear thin you'll be too addicted to the series to care, but happily with Twelve Sharp Evanovich, and the tension between Stephanie and her rugged leading men, has been reinvigorated. This series makes for a great holiday escape, even if the destination is Jersey, and the latest novel sees Ranger seriously complicating Stephanie's already amusingly tumultuous world. Twelve Sharp also allows Granny Mazur (with her penchant for funeral viewings and lycra) to really shine.
Kleinzeit
by Russell Hoban
2002
PB $21.95
This novel is a post-modern gem, where language and meaning are hilariously deconstructed using inventive and witty notions. Kleinzeit is fired and then suffers a heart attack, which lands him in hospital and in love with a nurse called Sister. He then interacts with concepts which are generally taken for granted, only for Kleinzeit God is far from all-knowing, Word is linguistically confused, and Action is unable to accomplish anything. Kleinzeit's name in German has two meanings, but will he turn out to be a 'hero' or 'smalltime'?
Bell Canto
by Ann Pachett
2002
PB $22.95
Patchett's novel follows the unlikely relationships that develop in the midst of a hostage situation. The intentions of kidnappers who storm an international gathering are thwarted by the absence of the underprivileged host country's President, who found that the event clashed with the airing of his favourite soap. This absence leads to a standoff, and isolated together these previous strangers emerge from the initial shock to form delicate attachments to each other. The affection that Patchett fosters for each character is marred only by the reader's knowledge that this exquisite balance cannot be indefinite. This subtle tension means that when the novel's stunning climax is reached you will be utterly absorbed.
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean
by Lauren Child
2003
PB $15.95
Clarice Bean has to do a book report for Mrs Wilberton's class, but all Clarice wants to do is read her Ruby Redfort novels. Unfortunately, they are not considered educational by Mrs Wilberton, but can Clarice Bean learn something from her beloved series and prove her nasty teacher wrong? Of course, but there is more happening here than a book report - Lauren Child's inventive use of language, interspersed with her charming illustrations, demonstrate Clarice's adorable and hilarious observations of her family and school life. I highly recommend all of Lauren Child's books to readers young and old, as the sense of humour, wit, and whimsy are utterly enchanting.
Death of an Ancient King
by Gaude
2005
PB $22.95
This prizewinning French novel reads like Paulo Coelho's imagination of a Greek tragedy - Gaud\'e9 managing to portray the brutality and futility of war with gentle and simple prose. King Tsongor, in his old age, must watch as his kingdom is destroyed by conflict over the marriage of his beautiful daughter Samilia. However, as the war continues the reasons for battling become less clear, but the battle no less vehement, with devastating results. This is a tale both topical and timeless.
My favourite book
A favourite? No, it's like Sophie's Choice.However, a few books that have moved me beyond the turning of the last page include Henry James' Portrait of a Lady, Zadie Smith's On Beauty, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, the epic Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquez, Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, and on a lighter note, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby..
My favourite author
Margaret Atwood
I had the pleasure of seeing Margaret Atwood interviewed at the Seymour Centre a few years ago and she was as impressively articulate and witty in person as she is on the page. Her novels, like The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace, are multilayered and intriguing. Her nonfiction, such as Negotiating with the Dead, is thought-provoking yet accessible. Feminist inquiry runs (subtly or not) throughout her work, from her novel Surfacing to her exploration of Penelope's long wait in The Penelopiad. I highly recommend anything by this brilliant and insightful author.
What's beside the bed
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child