Literary Brooding

Show Don't Tell Curtis Sittenfeld Paperback, First published 25 February 2025 Sittenfeld's Show Dont Tell, takes an ordinary life and makes it extraordinary. You know these people, you have neighbours like them and you don't think that their lives are complicated but Sittenfeld makes you realise the depth and complexity of their lives. Each of the twelve stories, reveals a cross road of sorts for the characters, where they are ruminating about their next move or a previous decision and it's outcome. I did think about going through each of the stories and providing a mini review. Then I thought, nah, because what I enjoyed was the transition from one story to the next. The not knowing where you were going next was part of the journey. Having said that, there were a couple of stand outs for me. The Hug – a couple having a discussion about whether she should hug an ex-partner or not. Where the conversation takes them is just marvelous. The Patron Saints of Middle Age – how...

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls Grady Hendrix 482 pages, Paperback. First published January 14, 2025 It is the early 1970s and being a pregnant teenager is akin to being a blight on a society. The only way to hide the disgrace is to send them to a home, where they are reminded of their sins until the problem can be adopted away. This is the situation fifteen-year-old Fern finds herself in. Having fallen pregnant, she is shipped off and abandoned at the Wellwood House by her parents. At the home, Fern meets other young women like herself, all scared and unsure of their future. They are all told giving their child up for adoption is the only viable option and that they will be able to go back to their normal life. The control exerted over their lives is stifling. Everything that eat, drink, when they shower, what they read, where they can go is controlled. They are powerless. It is not until Fern borrows a book from a librarian about the occult does she realise she may not be powerless afte...

The Women Kristin Hannah 472 pages, Kindle Edition. First published February 6, 2024 Frances (Frankie) decides to follow her brother to Vietnam and enlists as a nurse. We follow Frankie’s journey as she experiences the lows and highs of war, the personal struggles, finding friendship, love and betrayal. I have not read any of Hannah’s work before but was aware of the hype around her body of work. I was intrigued to read about a group of women who have to navigate the trauma of war and its aftermath. For me the title is a tad misleading for the book centres on Frankie, it is her journey, and all other characters are either supporters or detractors. Frankie when we meet her is naïve and lives a sheltered privileged life in California, where country clubs and high teas are the norm. Frankie is seeking purpose and when her brother enlists, a pathway opens where she sees an opportunity to contribute. Frankie soon comes face to face on a regular basis with sexual discrimination. It is in Vie...

The Ghosts of Paris  (Billie Walker Mystery, #2) by Tara Moss  415 pages, paperback, published 7 June 2022 Billie Walker is a female private enquiry agent, who is trying to carve out an existence in post- war two Australia. She is approached by a woman to locate her missing husband of two years. The woman wants to move on and needs to know if he is alive or dead. To find out Billie must travel to London and Paris to discover the truth. While there Billie is confronted the with the ghosts of her own past.   Moss, again, creates a realistic world with characters that leap of the page.  The plotting is tight and you are treated to a history lesson as you become entwined in the danger that Billie finds herself facing. The supporting characters are realistic, and Billie certainly has to put a couple of them in their place.    This an intriguing read, lots of twists and turns. A great read for those who love historical fiction with a female protagonist....

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson 480 pages, paperback published 2 January 2025 It is 1923, dragons and humans have been working under an ever-straining peace agreement that is on the verge collapse and the drumbeats of civil war are echoing loudly. Viv Featherswallow and her family are aware of the tensions brewing, as it is a constant discussion around the dinner table. However, Viv, is focused solely on her forthcoming admission to university and remains convinced the Prime Minister will set matters straight. When her parents are arrested for siding with the rebels and Viv must care for her five-year-old sister, she decides to take drastic action.  What Viv does creates a chain reaction of events that mire her family and friends into danger and Viv realises, she must be the one to make this right.   Williamson has crafted an ingenious world, with complex governance structures and social constructs. It is a world where your ability to thrive and survive is determ...

The Great Library of Tomorrow The Book of Wisdom Trilogy #1 Rosalia Aguilar Solace 473 pages • first pub 2024 Helia is the Sage of Hope, and while performing duties with her partner Xavier, Sage of Truth, they are ambushed while visiting the Rose Gardens in the realm of Silvyra. Helia realises that the Ash Man or Suttaru, long considered a legend is very real. As he destroys the gardens, Helia and her partner are hurt but she must get back to the Great Library of Tomorrow to raise the alarm and start the fight back.   The story starts of in the thick of it with Ash Man making his presence known and that he is about to wreak havoc on all the worlds. Helia and Xavier are in a battle for their lives, and the pace is frenetic. You quickly learn that Helia and Xavier are accompanied by magical orbs that can communicate. With Helia’s escape that is when things slow down and get complicated.   You are introduced to an additional eight or ten characters that all have bearing...

Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo 453 pages, Paperback, First published 2 May 2019 Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of mainly 12 women tell their stories over several years. Each character has an individual chapter but there is a commonality between the stories as they are grouped into four sets of three.   As you commence with Amma’s story you quickly realise that there are no full stops and no quotation marks. Okay, I can handle this and adjust, even though a couple of times I did lose who was speaking and had to back track. In researching the reasons for the style chosen, I understand Evaristo adopted a style of fluid prose poetry across all 12 stories to enhance the connection.   Back to Amma who kicks everything off, as she heads toward the theatre for her professional debut as a director and playwright at the National Theatre. Amma lets us know about her struggles, challenges, successes and doubts. When you think, you’re about to find out if Amma is a ...

The Listeners Maggie Steifvater 416 pages, Hardcover, expected publication 3 June 2025 It is 1942 and World War 2 has landed in the United States. The diplomats and dignitaries of unfriendly nations are being rounded ready for deportation. The Avallon Hotel and Spa is an institution of opulence and discretion where the needs of the guests are foremost. The Avallon Hotel is nestled in the hills of West Virginia and fed by the magical power of the local sweet water. The Avallon is for 'people so high on the social ladder they' have 'to duck for the sun to go overhead', it is an oasis in troubling times. June Porter Hudson, Avallon Hotel General Manager is determined of retaining that status despite the drum beats of war. When June is advised, in no uncertain terms by the owner that the hotel will host potential enemies of the US, June does what she is best at adapts. She focuses her staff to retain high levels of service, even if it is for Nazis and the Japanese. With the...

All the Colours of the Dark Chris Whitaker 581 pages, Paperback, Published 25 June 2024 All the Colours of the Dark was a revelation of read, for I was not expecting what would happen. The story centres on 'Patch', a young man missing an eye, who we first meet in his early teens. The opening paragraph tells you that something substantial is going to happen to Patch and it sure does. Patch witnesses and intervenes in the attempted abduction of Misty Meyer. Whereas Misty is able to escape, Patch becomes the substitute victim. As the police begin the search for Patch, his friend Saint, will not let the police slow down or forget about Patch. It is through her efforts that Patch is located. If that was not enough of a premise for an interesting story, Chris Whitaker dials it up several notches. For this is a story that spans generations, spans the trauma of being a survivor, the guilt of being a survivor and the continual search to find other victims and survivors. It is the story ...

  James Percival Everett 303 pages, Paperback, Published 19 March 2024 Jim from Huckleberry Finn is given a voice, it is strong, it is powerful, and it resonates. We are not presented with an adventure story but a survival story. Jim runs to remain alive, he runs to save his family, he runs to find a better future. I was quickly immersed into Jim's journey; Everett's writing grabs you and keeps you flicking pages. The writing is crisp, the descriptions vivid and the characters alive. I don't want to give anything away; read the book it is a masterpiece. Heroic Measures Jill Ciment 208 pages, Paperback, 1 January 2009 Ruth and Alex Cohen have lived in the same New York apartment for over 40 years and as they near their 80’s navigating the five flights of stairs is becoming a slog. They discover their property could be worth up to a million dollars and decide selling is a great idea as moving will mean an elevator. As they prepare for the sale, their beloved dog Dorothy suffe...

The Bitter Sweet Bakery Cafe Catherine Greer 379 pages, Kindle, published 4 March 2025 Audrey Sweetman is primed to have an exceptional day. She has a fabulous husband and today she is giving an advertising pitch that is going to make the agency a massive success and earn her that promotion. In a matter of hours, everything is turned on its head and Audrey finds all that she believed in has evaporated. Feeling betrayed by husband and angry with the agency, Audrey needs to get out of Sydney. Whitehaven Bay, a place she visited as a child with her Mum, seems like a good spot, where she can be a nobody and hide from the big bad world. The locals have a different idea, an elderly landlord who doesn’t mind a bit of nudity, a teenager with a ton of attitude and a locally appointed self-help guru and CEO of the holiday flats are all eager to make Audrey’s life a bit more complicated as they try to help. Audrey finds going back to what she loves, baking provides her with a way to heal and just...

  The Labyrinth - Amanda Lohrey 256 pages, paperback, published 1 January 2020 Erica was brought up in an asylum, not as a patient, her father was a doctor. She has returned after many years as she wants to walk the labyrinth but things have changed as the asylum is now closed. She is able to visit anonymously, not being questioned by true crime junkies about her father who was killed in a gruesome manner by a patient. As Erica explores she notes the changes that the church has become a cafe and discovers the labyrinth has been uprooted. Having tried to revisit the past Erica now confronts her future. She is looking to move to a coastal town in NSW, so that she been close to her son who is in prison. Lohrey has crafted a story that is quite simply sublime. It is heavily layered, with wonderfully realised characters and fabulous descriptions. Erica is a woman of complexity, as you walk alongside her, you slowly begin to realise the traumas she has experienced. You appreciate Erica's...

Well, I have been reading but not updating. I was tinkering with a new webpage thought create and go. Teah well back here, as the creating has been a tad slow. Be prepared for a couple of posts here and going to try and put in some themes, starting with fantasy, magic and alternative.  Comes the Night - Isobelle Carmody 472 pages, Paperback, Published 29 October 2024, Allen & Unwin  In the future people have to live in domes as the climate has become unpredictable. Will lives in Fyshwick an outer suburb of Canberra with his father. Life for Will is tough, his Uncle's passing does not sit easy with him as feels something seems off. What is worse no one is listening to him, not his Dad, his mother or therapist. His mother is more concerned about wanting Will to move to Sydney to follow a career path that is advantageous to her political ambitions. Will is feeling pulled in a multitude of directions. Talking to his friend Ender, rock climbing and taking pictures help Will rel...

Orpheus Nine  Chris Flynn Publish Date: 26 March 2025 to order go to Hachette Australia In the town of Grattan, New South Wales, the under 10’s have taken to the soccer field, it is a normal, day, parents are on the sidelines gossiping and cheering. What they do not know they will witness an event that will happen to one hundred and thirty million other nine year olds. The children will sing a Latin quote from King Lear and then their world will be shattered. To make matters worse the same event happens each time a child turns nine and no one can discover why. The inability by government, science, or religion to find answers to the phenomenon known as Orpheus Nine leads to a global meltdown. People get angry and confused resulting in governments being overthrown, law and order erased, supply chains falling over, and the conspiracy theories are rampant.  The story follows three people who live in Grattan, they have known each other since childhood, and each is impacted in a dif...

When the Moon Hatched Sarah A. Parker 560 pages, Paperback First published 13 January 2024 Raeve is an assassin for the rebellion against the current regime, she undertakes and completes her orders without getting caught. In carrying out on of her order Raeve becomes entangled with a man who seems to know her but she is able to escape his clutches. Being a successful assassin she is a target and to bring her out of hiding, a bounty hunter Rekk kills her companion Essi. Enraged by grief, Raeve seeks to destroy Rekk and take her revenge. Parker has created a realistic world, has developed complex governance and religious structures. The characters are well crafted and have unique personalities and ambitions. Each chapter is told through a different characters point of view and always in the first person, There will be spoilers and I hate doing that, but it is the only way to really discuss the story. Raeve as the main character, is a woman who has a strong sense of right and wrong, she i...

The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire  Chloe Hooper 258 pages, Paperback First published 15 October 2018 In 2009 two fires were lit deliberately in the LaTrobe Valley, Victoria, the devastation of that single act resulted in the loss of lives and property. Hooper looks at how the police investigated the crime of arson; the impact fire has on the community and the workings of the mind of an arsonist. Hooper’s book is compelling reading as you are deftly navigated through the police commencing their work to understand where the fire commenced, its path and the outcomes. The stories of those who did and did not survive are heartbreaking. Too often we see numbers on a news headline, 173 dead, over 3,500 structures destroyed, and 450,000 ha burnt. They are big numbers, but Hooper brings in the real damage through the words of the people who were there. It is through their descriptions of the intensity of the heat, lack of visibility, walls of flames, and the speed of what they were facing. Hoope...

The aims for 2025  Hey, yes been a bit slack updating over the new year, that thing called life.  My challenges for 2025, aiming for 50 books and 55,000 pages. I am more interested in the pages as I want to get into some fairly big tomes. I keep saying it, never do it but this year I have a determined mind set. Read at least one advanced reading copy a month and read a tad more non-fiction. That is really it.  I am already behind on posting reviews so you will do a catchup. I was unwell over the holiday break and writing anything of substance was just not going to happen. 

Iris - Fiona Kelly McGregor 464 pages, Paperback, First published September 27, 2022 Iris Webber is a woman trying to find a way to survive in the brutality that is Australia in the 1930s. There is a recession, there is rampant domestic violence and crime is an entrenched way of life. We follow Iris from her childhood in rural New South Wales, where poverty is the norm. Iris does the norm, she finds a man, she marries and for a long time she tries to be a good housewife. As the relationship progress Iris comes to understand how her husband has been fleecing her and the family. In a fit of rage, she shoots her husband and finds herself incarcerated at Hay Gaol. After her release, Iris heads to Sydney where she is quickly drawn into the world of prostitution, sly grog and running scams for cash. There is nothing romantic about what McGregor has put down on the page, this is an ugly story of Sydney in the 30’s and how women were the punching bag of society. Iris is based on a real person ...