February 2017 - The Spy by Paulo Coelho

The Spy is a fictionalised account of the life and death of Mata Hari. For a famously notorious figure, most of us didn't know much about her. This was quite a short read and some club members found it an engrossing story. Others (such as myself) did not even finish, despite it's small page count!

The story is told mainly from Mata Hari's point of view, based on letters she sent to her lawyer whilst imprisoned on treason charges. Coelho attempts to just tell the facts without any judgement, but how reliable is her story? It is fiction, not an autobiography, and the lines become a bit blurred.

Ultimately, she was a woman different to others of her time. Was she really a spy? Who knows!

Scores:
Allison    5
Anna      8
Annette  7
Carmel   8
Cheryl    7
Deb        8
Glenda   6
Kirrily    8
Krristy     4
Megan    6
Phil         8

Average: 6.8

December-January 2017- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Our big read for the summer break was the Pulitzer Prize winner for 2015, All the Light We Cannot See. This is yet another book based on World War II, however it looks at the conflict from a different perspective. The two main protagonists are teenagers. One is a blind French girl named Marie-Laure, the other an orphaned boy pushed through the German war-machine named Werner.

It was refreshing to see a depiction of WWII from the German perspective, and which didn't revolve around the unquestionable horrors of the Holocaust. This book is based on the occupation of France, is centered around Saint-Malo on the Breton coast, and contains horrors aplenty.

Our discussion turned to the fact that this war still continues to resonate with people; so many stories are still being written about it. Later generations have no experience of the suffering that so many people went through. Cheryl put it succinctly- how on earth did anyone survive the horror of WWII? The experience of war changes people, as we see through the story's characters.

It scored well and some of us loved it. There were some negatives, however. The drawn out ending ruined the story for Megan, and Annette thought it was too contrived and felt like a soap opera.

Scores:
Allison- 7
Anna- 10
Annette- 5
Carmel- 10
Cheryl- 7
Glenda- 8
Kirrily- 7
Kristy- 10
Megan- 7
Phil- 9

Average: 8.0

October 2016 - This House of Grief by Helen Garner

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Only 3 members met at Phil's house to discuss This House of Grief. We were all a bit bemused by the fact that Donald Trump had just been elected POTUS, and probably spent a fair chunk of time discussing the future of world affairs as well as the book

The book starts like a fairy-tale- "Once there was a hard-working bloke who lived in a small Victorian country town with his wife and their three young sons..."

Unfortunately this family's story has no fairy-tale ending. The three young sons end up dead and the hard-working bloke is put on trial for their murders. For a book with such tragic subject matter it was surprisingly easy to read and, in parts, quite gripping. The reader is right there in the court gallery with Garner as she vacillates between disbelief that a parent could deliberately drive his 3 sons into a dam, sympathy for the pathetic figure that Rob Farquharson cuts in the courtroom, and certainty that the evidence cannot be wrong.

This book is an interesting commentary on the judicial system and whether or not it is possible to ever discover 'the truth'. The personalities of those in the courtroom had a huge impact on Garner and what she believed; from the barristers, witnesses, Rob Farquharson, Cindy Gambino and her grieving family, as well as the corp of journalists covering the story from the gallery. Can a writer ever be an impartial observer and commentator, or do personal impressions, assumptions and prejudices always intrude? Can anyone ever assess the evidence before them and know without a doubt 'the truth'?

This House of Grief was thought provoking and enjoyed by all of us.

Scores:
Cheryl- 8
Kristy- 7
Phil- 7

Average: 7.3

August 2016- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Only a small group of readers met this month to discuss Helen Macdonald's critically acclaimed 'grief memoir' H is for Hawk. Annette picked this one based on its popularity at the library- it seemed to be borrowed frequently by various book club groups. She hadn't even read the blurb on the back cover.

One word seemed to sum up the book for us all- boring! Megan called it all "self indulgent twaddle". We all struggled to empathise with Helen as she pushed humankind away and locked herself into the house with Mabel (her baby Goshawk). Helen isolated herself from the world and from us, the readers. Apparently the book is based on her diary entries, and was written years later. We agreed that her diary was a suitable place to express her crippling sadness whilst she was struggling with her grief, but felt that It ultimately wasn't really for public consumption. It got in the way of us feeling any personal connection with Macdonald- her only personality trait seemed to be grief.

On the plus side, we all learned something about hawks and falconry! I didn't even know what a goshawk was prior to reading this book and found her descriptions of Mabel quite endearing. Most of us didn't understand or enjoy the constant references to TH White and his similar struggle to tame a hawk, although Anna has since emailed in her reactions and did enjoy those sections of the book. Annette didn't end up finishing, but those of us who did found the ending anticlimactic.

Scores:

Anna- 6

Annette- 2

Carmel- 3

Kristy- 3

Megan- 3

Average- 3.4

July 2016- The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

Megan's choice was picked out of the hat for this month. Last year we read about Hemingway's life as a poor starving writer living in 1920s Paris with his first wife, Hadley (see the blog post for The Paris Wife/Paris Without End). She was keen to read some of his writing and we do like to include a 'classic' each year.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro was first published in the 1930s. It is a short story about a man named Harry following a truck breakdown in Africa. Actually it is the shortest read we have ever had for book club at a whopping 20-something pages! The story was a bit hard to follow at first, but all credit to the power of Hemingway's writing- the reader quickly picks up on what is going on. His writing is quite sparse and concise. Megan loved the character's self-awareness and thought the writing was beautifully rendered as death approached.

Those of us who had read the biographies last year didn't have a particularly high opinion of Ernest as a person. One of the things we noticed whilst reading this short story was that we picked up on a lot of things that we had earlier read about. Hemingway writes of Harry: "Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well." His life experiences really did seem to influence his writing, something that often led to tension with his friends and associates in real life.

Many commented that rating this was particularly difficult due to it being a short story. I don't think that anyone loved the story or the character of Harry, but we tried to view the writing objectively. Carmel was glad that she had read it as she has had Hemingway on her list of things to read for a long time.

Scores:
Carmel- 7
Cheryl- 5
Glenda- 7
Kirrily- 5
Kristy- 7
Megan- 8

Average- 6.5

June 2016- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

June's read was The Goldfinch, nominated by Alison. This won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014. For a book that is a brick (at almost 800 pages) surprisingly quite a few of us finished it. Some reviewers have called the novel 'Dickensian': Megan said that it was because Tartt used too many words, and they were all the same words! Phil thought that there was not enough variety in the storyline and/or characters. There needed to be a bit more light to balance out the unremitting darkness and misery. Carmel loved it, particularly the constant thread running throughout of Theo's grief at losing his mother and the impact that had on the rest of his life. Alison enjoyed it so much she has now read it twice- what an achievement! Kristy enjoyed it at the beginning, particularly the early scenes in New York, but grew frustrated by the lack of redeeming features in almost every single character once they headed off to Vegas. She also felt that it dragged on way too long.

All of us were fascinated by the actual artwork The Goldfinch and wanted to know more about the Dutch painter Fabritius. This book was polarising- we either loved it or found it incredibly frustrating. You have to love a book club pick which does that and generates so much debate and discussion!

Scores:

Alison- 9

Carmel- 10

Kristy- 5

Megan- 5

Phil- 7

Average- 7.2

May 2016- Island Home by Tim Winton

Our May read was Tim Winton's Island Home- a landscape memoir.

This was one of Anna's suggestions and was the first book to be picked out of the hat. This is a new system we are trialling- each member suggests 2 books, which are drawn out at random. We had a bit of a chuckle because Anna's daughter did the first draw and Anna's book was the one picked out.

Phil loved the book and Megan read it in one day. Anna loves pretty much all of Winton's work, particularly his affinity with water and the landscape, and his 'non-gushy' descriptions. Carmel is quite the opposite- she isn't a Winton fan at all! Kristy started out enjoying it immensely, particularly the description of growing up in a new housing development in suburban Perth. However, she thought it tended to drag on a bit too much towards the end of the book and needed an editor to tell him when to call time.

Here are the scores:

Anna- 9
Carmel- 5

Kristy- 7
Megan- 9

Phil- 8

Average score- 7.6

October 2015- The Paris Wife and Paris Without End: the true Story of Hemingway’s First Wife

The Paris wife by Paula McLain 

Paris without end: the true Story of Hemingway’s First Wife by Gioia Diliberto

This month we read two different versions of the marriage between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson. The first title is the fictionalized and the second an account complete with referencing (yay says Kristy) based on Diliberto’s research.

Set mainly in Paris in the 1920’s the couple were at the centre of the movers and the shakers of the expatriate American literary community. Hadley is credited as being the inspiration for Hemingway and ‘the only woman Hemingway never stopped loving’.

It was interesting to hear that most of the events and places in Diliberto’s book were also in McLain’s. So we were all able to envy their lifestyle travelling to exotic places, wining and dining on little or no money with the help of well heeled friends.  

So what did everyone think about the books? Those that read The Paris wife thought was an enjoyable enough as a record of the time period but the writing style was lacking and tedious.

However those that chose the non fiction loved it. Deb said it was all she wanted in book and didn’t want it to end. What more could you want.

Scores:

Anna              8         

Annette          5

Cheryl            5

Deb                10

Kristy             5

Megan           10

Phil                8

Average:       7.2

September 2015- Sapphire Skies by Belinda Alexandra

For a book that was not initially highly regarded it generated lively discussion.

Megan began by telling us she thought it was complete trash and poorly written. Phil tried to point out the high points of the book but had to wait until Megan was finished. Phil eventually explained that she found the historical elements of the book set in Stalinist Russia, were done well without the need to delve too deeply into the horrors of the regime.

Anna did not like the author's attempt to mix a few genres into the book: chick lit, historical fiction and Mills and Moon style romance. The combination of this with an amateur writing style did not impress. 

We all agreed with Cheryl who found the ending disappointing, it should have stopped at the scene in the cemetery but instead dragged on. 

Annette provided some interesting info on how Stalin worked to bring down those around him. 

Overall we thought it was badly written but we were interested in learning about the women fighter pilots. 

Scores

Megan    0

Anna.      4

Phil          6

Cheryl      5

Annette   6

Average:  4.2 not too bad really!!

June 2015- The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Our June read was The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated from the Spanish by Lucia Graves. This is the middle book of Zafon's Cemetery of Forgotten Books trilogy, but can be read as a stand-alone novel.

The book generated a lot of discussion amongst the group. It is quite a gothic read, so somewhat over the top in places. A few of us were left very confused by the multiple plot lines and some of the characters. Megan had gone exploring various interpretations in the blogosphere during her reading...it was that sort of book. We eventually decided that the menacing Parisian publisher, Andreas Corelli, must be Lucifer (the Angel of the title).

The Angel's Game was also very atmospheric (a pre-requisite for all gothic novels). We all agreed that the landscape of Barcelona was another important character in the book, and that knowledge of the city would definitely enhance the reading experience. Phil tells us that the trees and lamposts as seen on the book's cover are from the Ramblas.

We all enjoyed this book, despite the confusion that enveloped a few of us as the book progressed. It led us to discuss many things: hallucinogenic drug usage, mental illness, the influence of the looming Spanish Civil War, the impact of propaganda and the written word, book-burning, the role of religion, theology and dogma, as well as the 'soul' of the writer.

Great pick Phil!

Megan  7
Kristy.  7
Cheryl  7
Annette ?
Phil       ?

Average 7

May

Eyrie by Tim Winton

Tom Keely, a man who has lost his bearings in middle age and is now holed up in a flat at the top of a grim highrise, looking down on the world he's fallen out of love with. 

Anna 6

Deb 8

Megan 8

Average 7.3

April

The night circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night.

Anna 4

Annette 6.5

Deb 4

Megan 5.5

Phil 4

Average 4.8

February

The sea bed by Marele Day

An intriguing, understated and beautiful narrative, this is the story of a Buddhist monk, who has to travel to a remote fishing village on a task of love and duty, and a young woman who is also returning to the village of her birth.

March 2015- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird 

Alison         10

Anna           10

Annette       10

Cheryl         10

Deb             8  

Megan        10

Average   9.6

Dec/Jan 2015- The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Signature of all things by Elizabeth Gilbert

'Signature of all things' is an epic set amongst the famous discoverers and discoveries of the late 18th, and 19th centuries. The story of Alma Whittaker born in 1800 begins with the journey of her self made, ambitious father Henry, a poor Londoner, who travels with Cook to Hawaii, works for the famous botanist Joseph Banks and makes his fortune in quinine trade in South America. It traverses the globe from London, to South America, Tahiti, Hawaii, Philadelphia and Amsterdam. It is so much more than a saga though; it is full of science and fascinating botany. In this time of time of new ideas Alma is working on her own ideas and the theory of evolution.

Elizabeth Gilbert spent 3 1/2 years researching this book and it shows. She was featured in an article in last weekend's SMH:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/opposites-attract-20150210-13a0c8.html

Megan mentioned this book last year and assured us that it was better reading than Gilbert's other, more famous book. Most of were skeptical, but Megan pushed on and when it was her turn to choose she had us. And she was right, the book was thoroughly enjoyed by all except Kristy who'd had enough of the binding closet and what Alma did in there. 

The scores:

Anna            8

Annette        8

Cheryl          9

Deb             10

Genevieve    9

Kristy            5  

Megan         10

Phil               9

Average   8.5