Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. December - January 2013

We were originally going to do this book in May 2012. I'm not sure why we didn't do it, I think maybe as it is a big read.

Middlesex tells the story of Cal, a hermaphrodite raised as a girl by her Greek-American parents. When Cal reaches puberty she begins to recognise a difference between herself and her classmates.

Here is link to the First Tuesday Bookclub page. It has a bit of interesting info including some very mixed reviews.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s2615796.htm

November 2012- The Colour by Rose Tremain

The Colour is set in the New Zealand gold rush of the 1860’s.

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, along with Joseph’s mother Lilian, emigrate from England in search of new beginnings and prosperity.

When Joseph finds gold in the creek he keeps it secret from his family and leaves his farm and sets off for the new gold-fields over the Southern Alps. In the meantime Harriet must survive in the island's hostile terrain. Other characters are similarly vulnerable and  cluster around the Blackstones. Arriving halfway through is a Chinese market gardener, Pao Yi, who sells his produce to the desperate, prospectors.

This book has fantastic reviews online however our feeling was that it was stinker. I had read this a few years ago on the strength of another book by this author, Music and silence, which I loved,  I didn't mention to anyone in the group what I thought of The Colour  in case it spoiled their judgement.

the scores were:

Alison         2

Annette      1

Anna           2

Cheryl         3

Deb             2

Genevieve  3

Kristy           2

Megan         2

Average:   2.12 

October 2012- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles is a debut novel for Madeline Miller and tells the story of a love affair between Achilles and Patroclus. Miller spent ten years writing the book at the same time working as a Latin and Greek teacher.

The feelings for this book varied, as did the scores. Too many oiled bodies for one person, may have been Alison! The book generated an interest in Greek mythology but the general consensus was that it was badly written and the style of text did not suit the topic, for example talking about meals in terms of breakfast and lunch.

The great thing about this book though was the visit to the Australian Museum organized by Megan in conjunction with Charles Sturt University alumni and the Alexander the Great, 2000 years of treasures exhibit from the State Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia.

Check out the two photos, one of me, Megan and Genevieve, and one very dark photo of Deb, Phil and Megan.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.448293061902193.110716.152585021473000&type=3

Oh, and the ratings:

Alison     3

Annette  6

Cheryl    5

Deb        7

Megan   7

Average: 5.6