bookrblog

Island

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | Canadian Literature | No Comments

I bought this book of short stories by Alistair MacLeod under the impression it was by Alistair Maclean who wrote the wartime sagas. MacLeod is actually a Canadian author who writes about the people of Nova Scotia, who speak Gaelic and work in the mines and in the sea. It is an exceptional book. The stories are compelling and the writing is simply beautiful. He reveals an entire world which now barely exists, as few Canadians now speak Gaelic, and the communities who worked so closely together have now drifted apart. His stories are all about people, and range from mildly comic stories (about a boy trying to breed the perfect calf) to utter tragedies. There are love stories of all kinds. He celebrates and examines family, and how the past affects the future. His stories are brilliant; a great find for this year.

The Nanny Diaries

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | American Literature | No Comments

This book by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin rose fast to popularity and sunk just as quickly; I bought it for a dollar at the local markets. It’s billed as a comedy, but it’s too sad for that. It’s the story of a uni student acting as nanny to a poor little rich boy, aware of all the secrets of the household and unable to do anything about it, even unable to protect the boy. This story fails because the author reveals too much, too soon; she doesn’t lose any innocence, because she already knows what the rich are like; she doesn’t gain any wisdom, because she believes the fault is simply in being rich. This is a tragic little tale of people who ignore treasure to go after dross; but it’s really told better in a fable, perhaps not the golden goose, but something like it.

Three Willows

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | Children's Literature | No Comments

This is another attempt by Ann Brasheres, the author of “the sisterhood of the travelling pants” to develop a popular series, but it isn’t as good and it doesn’t say anything new. Three new girls are going through adolescence, but they’re not as memorable as her original friends, and you can feel the author trying too hard. Although she tries to tackle some big issues, it’s done so lightly that she really doesn’t succeed. An easy read, not a bad one, but not particularly good, either.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | Children's Literature | No Comments

This grim adolescent novel by Patrick Ness has been highly lauded, and it certainly is original and well-written. It is, however, very violent and very depressing. It reminds me of something that John Marsden might write. A boy is urged to leave his community just before his coming-of-age ceremony. He’s in a world where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts, even animals, and in a community where there are no women - they died of a sickness years before. However, when he leaves, he discovers everything he has been told is a lie, and things are much - much, much, much - worse than he thinks. And it gets worse from there. While this is a well-written and interesting book, it revels in violence far too much for me, and I won’t be seeking the sequel.

Magic Flutes/The Dragonfly Pool

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | Children's Literature | No Comments

All of Eva Ibbotson’s books are exactly the same. Exactly. They each feature a quirkily original and innocent heroine, some member of royalty, a link to world war two, and a sweet romance. They are escapist romantic fiction for little girls, and definitely succeed in this. Magic Flutes has opera as its theme; the Dragonfly Pool features an interesting alternative school. All of her books are sort of autobiographical in that she fled from Vienna before WW2, attended an interesting alternative school, and studied science. There’s a lot about science and nature in her books too. They’re good as escapist lit - which is why I read them! -but they’re nothing more than that.

A Walk in the Woods

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | American Literature | No Comments

This little travelogue by Bill Bryson is a little funny, a little interesting, and a little annoying (probably like the author). It’s about the Appalachian Trail which is a long trail through woodlands in the East Coast of the USA. It was good to hear that there are still trees in America, and some wildness in the woods. His characterisations of the people are so harsh that you cringe, though. And he goes on and on about the dangers (I recall he did that in the Australian one too, the wuss). In the end he gives up, but it’s not that you can’t understand, it’s more why he started in the first place. A kind of bizarrely entertaining read.

Alfred and Emily

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

I’ve only read one other book by Doris Lessing and I didn’t really like it that much. This semi-autobiography is much better. She tells the story of her parents; firstly, an imagined history of their lives had they not met, a more successful history where Alfred has the farm he craves and Emily the work she needs. Then the reality; a farm that fails, a family that is destroyed by war, a needy, lonely mother who drives her daughter away. This is a fascinating portrait of life in the first half of the twentieth century, in a world that simply doesn’t exist any more. I really enjoyed it, even though it was sad, and understood Lessing’s earlier writings far better.

The Mitford Girls

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

This biography by Mary K Lovell is both tragic and illuminating. What incredible women those Mitford girls were! The five girls were political activities, writers, successful business people, and absolutely notorious during their day. There was Unity who was so close to Hitler that he smuggled her into Switzerland when she shot herself during the war; Diana who was imprisoned during the war for being the lover and then wife of the head of the British Union of Fascists; Nancy, the acerbic and very talented writer; Jessica, for whom the British Navy sent a destroyer to rescue when she fled as a teenager to the Spanish Civil War, and who then became a famous writer; and Pam and Deborah who had to live with their sisters’ disgrace and get on with their lives, creating successful businesses for themselves. They were snobs, they were rude and somewhat cruel to others, and they were utterly unique. This is a good and balanced biography of the sisters (and the brother, too, who sadly died in the war) and the world they lived in.

Merrily Merrily

Sunday, July 12th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

This is an unusual review - it’s a songbook from the australian breastfeeding association (www.mothersdirect.com.au) which was put together in 1979, and has been reprinted ever since. It is more than a list of songs - it includes ideas for fingerplays and activities, the sheet music to be played, and a CD to get the idea of the songs (and the songs are sung either by a preschool-teacher soundalike, or children, which is nice).

It is great to see familiar favourites alongside interesting additions including aboriginal songs and a few from other countries. It isn’t hugely multicultural, and some of the songs seem pretty sexist nowadays (e.g. “hands up daddy come home, daddy’s got money and mummy’s got none”)!

I think they should advertise this collection more, because it’s excellent, especially for new mums/dads who have forgotten the old songs.