Literary Brooding

I have been reading and thus not updating and so it is time to catch up. The reviews are short as I kept wanting to go back to the reading.  Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman  Paperback, 238 pages, Published March 29th 2005 by Ballantine Books For 200 years Blackbird House has stood and watched as people have passed through it's doors.  Each family has it's own tale to tell and you are moved through time. The first family that resides there suffers an awful tragedy at sea. As the waves overtake him a young boy releases his pet blackbird and the bird returns back to the house. Rather than being seen as a sign of hope the blackbird becomes the harbinger of bad news.  Each of the stories are short, compelling and have you wanting to know more about these families.  The linkages between families and time is deftly handled. You are seamlessly moved along and never wondering how did I get here. Hoffman has beautiful lyrical style and you are carri...

Different Class Joanne Harris Hardcover, 416 pages Expected publication: April 21st 2016 by Doubleday  (first published April 7th 2016) What a corker of a novel, quite simply an absolute corker. Latin master Roy Straitley has been teaching at St Oswald’s Grammar school for over thirty years and he has survived not just the boys but the changes in administration. Experience has taught Straitley that each year you have troublemakers, favourites, and then there is the odd boy who just cannot be pigeonholed. St Oswald’s is going through another upheaval this time brought on by scandal and the need to modernise. While there are all this new beginnings on offer Roy Straitley finds himself confronted with the past and a sense of foreboding. This is a taut psychological thriller that goes back and forth through time. The main point of view is Straitley who brings together all the pieces of the story. The voice that is most engaging is the unidentified person who writes to Mousey...

The Salzburg Tales by Christina Stead Paperback,  Published January 1st 2016 by Miegunyah Press (first published 1934) Christina Stead is finally and thankfully going through a revival as new readers are introduced to her works. Australia seems to have a habit of not celebrating its female authors and it is wonderful to see this renewed focus. Stead in my humble opinion is one of Australia’s greatest authors and having read this novel just seals the deal for me. A group of strangers have a chance meeting at the Salzburg Festival and over seven days they tell stories. The tales involve tragedy, humour, fantasy and myth.  The characters are beautifully realised It is an extraordinary collection of stories and I was moved, engaged and transported into these diverse lives. The way that Stead captures the elements of a character in her personages’ introduction is just divine ‘her arms were thin, muscular and rough skinned as a shark’s fin with too much exercise.’ There a...

The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby Paperback, 139 pages, Published 2004 by Harper Perennial A man trapped in a body that no longer functions but with a brain brimming with memories, creativity and stories.  Communicating by blinking only with one eye he dictates a remarkable memoir filled with humour, insights and tinged with sadness.  I don't think anyone could imagine being locked into their body. The thought of spending hours, weeks, months lying in a bed with nothing but your thoughts is unfathomable. Yet Bauby was able to demonstrate a deep love for humanity and place focus on the simple pleasures we take for granted. Just the simple act of being able to ruffle his son's hair is heartbreaking. A poignant memoir. Blood Acre by Peter Landesman Paperback, 272 pages,  Published January 1st 2000 by Penguin Books Nathan Stein was once a successful lawyer has quickly slid down into the depths of corruption and...

My Life on the Road Gloria Steinem Hardcover, 304 pages Published October 27th 2015 by Random House I knew of Gloria Steinem but not about her and this book is my introduction to the woman and her work.  My Life on the Road is a highly quotable memoir full of observations, anecdotes and pearls of wisdom. Steinem starts with the simple question of what makes me want to keep on the road travelling from place to place and for Steinem it starts with her Father.  As it was her Father that pack the family in the car to go travelling with no end date to the journey. I loved the descriptions that evoke life on the road ‘we see an acre of motorcycles around each isolated diner and motel’ and ‘stopping to cool off in shallow streams or find shade in groves where chai and steamed rice cakes called idlis were sold from palm-roofed shelters.’ Her years as a journalist have given her a wonderful skill to simply and quickly catch the beauty and the ugliness of situations. The sectio...

The Secret Heiress Luke Devenish Paperback, 422 pages Expected publication: April 1st 2016 by Simon and Schuster Australia In this Australian gothic novel two young women 17 years apart, find themselves entangled in the mystery that surrounds the inhabitants of Summersby House. The story is told in alternating viewpoints and we start with Ida Garfield in 1886.  Young and naïve she is employed by the mistress of Summersby House, Matilda Gregory as a housemaid. Yet Ida is not being employed just for her labouring skills but also her natural curiosity. Full of excitement for the start of a new job Ida’s hopes are crushed when Matilda Gregory is found is dead in circumstances that leads to an exodus of staff and a lot of town gossip. Undeterred Ida commences work and soon discovers that there are mysteries to be discovered in Summersby House including unravelling her attraction to recently widowed and handsome Samuel Hackett. The second point of view is by Biddy, some 17 y...

Depraved Heart  Patricia Cornwell Hardcover, 480 pages, Published October 27th 2015 by William Morrow The last time I read a Scarpetta novel was back in 2013 and it was book 16 in the series. I have come back to the series at book 23 with Depraved Heart. Scarpetta is called to investigate an apparent suicide but as she begins to examine the clues all is not what it seems. Yet her investigation is side-tracked as she receives a series of text messages with a video feed that suggest her niece Lucy is in trouble. Once again Scarpetta finds herself in a race to sort out fact from fiction.   Coming back to a Scarpetta novel is like catching up with old friends. You come in visit their lives, discover what a mess they have made, where they have been successful and that you still find Lucy annoying. What I did find to be a significant change in this book is that no one seems to trust anyone anymore. Scarpetta does not trust Lucy, Benton or Marino. Marino does not trust...