Welcome to my book review page. I really enjoy reading and I read a variety of literature and non-fiction. Here I would like to share with you some synopses and opinions of books I have read. The dates are when I have read the book, not publication dates. Please note that most of my reviews are positive ones, as I tend to not finish books I am not enjoying... Too many books - not enough time!

Year of Wonders - Historical Fiction by Geraldine Brooks June 2005

Australian Journalist Geraldine Brooks proves in her first novel that she is a master of research. This tale of a small English village racked by plague during the 1600's is brilliantly woven with old English idiom and cultural/historical facts.
Told through the eyes of Anna, a young mother and wife of a lead miner, who loses her family to the plague, and then begins to tend the sick and dying. The village is isolated from the rest of the world in hopes of containing the outbreak. Brooks explores the manner in which it's inhabitants cope with this isolation, for better or worse; and how the plague makes them question their religious beliefs.
I really enjoyed reading this book, Brooks prose has a pleasing poetic lilt to it. Being a lover of historical fiction, I enjoyed the references to witch craft, lead mining, religious and cultural customs. It gave some insight into the harsh realities of life during the period, regardless of the presence of plague.
The ending was somewhat discordant to the general theme of the novel, but I felt it did not detract from the value of the book too greatly.

Two Prayers to One God - George Szego - 2001

George Szego grew up in Hungary. Of Jewish descent, he was raised as a Christian although many of his family were still Jewish. He told of the difficulties he experienced trying to fit into the Christian school system. He was a teenager when World War 2 loomed, and eventually his Jewish identity saw him taken through a series of concentration camps, culminating in Auschwitz, which he survived by what can only be called a series of miracles. After the war he married and spent time in his home country and Israel, before settling in Melbourne Australia.

While the book largely centres on his experiences as a Jew during WWII, and his realisation of an almost mystical connection with other Jews; there is comment here about his family and their inter relationships, especially his father who I feel he strives to understand.; and ultimately a commentary on his treatment by Australian authorites when he migrated here. Running alongside the story is a psychological analysis as well, which I found interseting and which added another dimension to the story.

The scenes from Auschwitz are not to be read by the faint hearted,, the brutality is not at all disguised. I wondered at one point if I could continue reading this book, but I forged ahead and was very glad I had seen it through to the end, because there is a lot of triumph of the human spirit here.

 

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian - new release American fiction -1999

The story is told by Connie Danforth, a respected ob-gyn. After her mother's death she relates the painful events which overtook her family during the Vermont winter when she was 14 years old. Her mother, Sybil, a "non medically trained" midwife, a trade which flourished back then in the 70's, has delivered over 500 babies successfully during home births. However, one birth goes awry, the mother dying while the home is cut off by ice storms and iced telephone lines. Sybil successfully attempts a ceasarean section with a kitchen knife, saving the baby, but later being accused of murder.

Each chapter has an excerpt from Sybil's notebooks or personal diary which tells things from her point of view. It is not until the final pages of the book that we read her excerpt for the day of the caesarean, when the authour very cleverly delivers the final twist.

Although fiction, Midwives has a strong basis in fact. Just how strong, we are left to wonder, and this is part of the appeal of the book. Another astonishing aspect of this novel, given the subject matter and the fact that it is written from a female perspective, is that it is written by a man. Albeit a man whose mother appears to have been a midwife herself.

The book is greatly interspersed with both legal drama, as we follow the trial, and the history of midwifery and statistics pertaining to the same.

I enjoyed this book hugely. I thoroughly recommend it to all women,as well as anyone with an interest in the subject matter, or who enjoys courtroom drama.

 

Then came Heaven by La Vyrle Spencer - Romantic light reading set in 1950's USA.- 1999

I had not read any of this authour's books previously, but this one was recommended as a good light read, and indeed it was. It is also her last novel, as she has since retired.

Eddie Olczak lives in a small town in Minnesota in the 1950's, where catholicism and people of Polish descent are the norm. He works as the curator of St Josephs church and convent school, and is blissfully happy with his wife Krystyna and two delightful daughters. However one day Krystyna is brutally killed in an accident, and Eddie is left facing not only the practical dilemmas but also terrifying loneliness.

Sister Regina is the Benedictine nun who teaches Eddie's daughters. She is becoming increasingly unhappy with certain aspects of her calling, and beginning to question the church's motivation for some of their rules. This is brought to a head when she is not "allowed" to hug or comfort the girls when their mother dies and when she is "forbidden" to have personal discussions with Eddie, who respectfully seeks her out as the only person he feels comfortable confiding in.

The story progresses to a predictable happy conclusion, following a course of soul searching on the part of both main characters.

While an undemanding book, it does give insight into convent life and the way of life for Polish families of that era and place. I found the characterisation and details excellent, and the storyline believable. A pleasant read.

The Lilac Bus by Maeve Binchy - Easy reading Irish fiction-1999

Again, this is one from an authour I had not previously read, but which was recommended.

The Lilac bus makes the journey each Friday night from Dublin to the small village of Rathdoon, and back again on Sunday. Ron Fitzgerald runs the bus and only charges enough to cover his costs.

Eight people take the bus each week, and we have a story about each of them in each chapter. Why do they take the bus, what has happened in their lives, and more importantly, what happens in their lives on the weekend outlined in the book?

This novel is largely a collection of loosely connected stories about ordinary people in a small Irish village. It is unremarkable, but pleasant and engaging.

Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks - The secret life of Muslim women as seen by an Australian Journalist. - 1999

 

April Fool's Day by Bryce Courtenay- An Australian true story-1999

April Fool's Day is a poignant factual account written by New York based Australian authour, Bryce Courtenay.(Power of One)

It tells the story of his son's battle with haemophilia and AIDS, from the time of his birth to his death several years ago on April Fool's Day. It is a painfully honest book, for which I am sure Bryce Courtenay did a lot of soul searching. As he tells the story we learn about his family and their life and interrelationships, and also about the agony that is AIDS and the inhumanity and incompetence which exists in the medical system.

Above all though, I think April Fool's Day attains what the authour wanted it to be...a story about love in it's purest sense.

Cleverly written, partly from Bryce Courtenays standpoint, with sections by his son Damon, his wife , and Damons girlfriend Celeste ; April Fool's day celebrates Damon's life and the wonderful love he shared with Celeste.

This book is an inspiration to all those who might complain about day to day problems. Damons composure and determination, and Celeste's boundless devotion to him are examples of human endurance and achievement at their best.

It's probably not a book for everyone, and it's not a book you would read all at once, but it is still a most worthwhile and uplifting read.

 

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs - Forensic Science thriller- 1998

This thrilling novel by newly famous authour Reichs is written in the currently popular genre of a forensic science background, but surpasses anything I have read of this type in terms of being "unputdownable".

Reichs writes in the first person as Dr. Brennan, an American scientific anthropologist who is based in Montreal Canada as a bone analyst in the crime laboratories. She begins to link several cases of mutilated women's remains, and despite stiff opposition from detective Claudel, she believes a serial killer is at large. She begins to unravel the mystery herself, and in doing so finds herself embroiled in the plans of a madman.

The novel is magnificently researched, placing the action on a background of forensic nitty gritty and cultural and geographical facts about Montreal.

While some of the facts may seem quite gruesome, I found the novel perfectly believable, the characters are vivid and its just totally engrossing. Dont start reading it if you need to be doing something else, but it would be perfect for the holidays!

 

ANGELAS ASHES by FRANK MC COURT - Irish Autobiography.- 1999

Angelas Ashes is a Pulitzer prize winning novel by Irish writer Frank McCourt and details his childhood and adolescence growing up in incredible poverty in New York and Limerick during the 1930's and 40's.

This engrossing autobiographical account of his early years primarily deals with the struggle for survival of his mother Angela and her seven children (three of whom die), in the face of an alcoholic husband and father who rarely supplies the family with much needed money for the basics of life.

The story is told in a simple, easily readable style which seems to capture the Irish spirit, and even in its simplicity conjures up vivid images in the reader's mind. There is also considerable attention given to Catholicism and the role it played in their lives.

Just as we follow the trials of the McCourt family, so too we get more than a large glimpse of the lives of the Irish poor and their suffering at the hands of an insensitive church system.

I would recommend Angela's Ashes as a terrific read for just about anyone, young or old and of either sex or any religion. It is a simply written yet powerful story in which everyone will find something to identify with.

Above all, I think it says something about the ability of the human spirit to triumph over adversity, and a message for everyone that anything is possible if you are determined enough.

 

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