Ruby Blues - Jessica Rudd

After reading and enjoying Jessica Rudd's debut novel, Campaign Ruby, last year I wondered at the end of my review if a sequel would be in the future - I'm not sure if I was the catalyst but a sequel has indeed just been released.
Ruby Blues starts 2 years after the end of the previous book. Ruby has been working for the Prime Minister, Max Masters, since his election win and she has also been in a relationship with his previous Chief of Staff, Luke. Unfortunately for Ruby, but fortunately for the reader, all is not well in her political or personal worlds. The glow of the election win is starting to wear off the government and Ruby's boss looks very much like losing his job at the next election if some major image and policy readjustment does not take place. Ruby's relationship with Luke is also travelling poorly in the polls with Ruby's busy schedule keeping them apart more often than not. Of course these tensions are just what is needed to drive the story along and give the reader something to care about and follow.
Rudd's writing is sharp, witty and engaging. As with the first book there are definitely quite a few plot twists that can seem a little on the coincidental side but somehow Rudd pulls them off without the book falling into the farcical zone.
Ruby herself is funny, energetic and at times just a tad annoying - but lovable all the same. Some new characters enter this book - with my favourite having to be political intern, Bettina who feels the need to express herself primarily in acronyms much to the disgust of Ruby.
A really enjoyable, fun read.

Past The Shallows - Favel Parrett

There was so much about Past The Shallows that I just couldn't go past. The title for a start, so simple, so beautiful, so tempting. The fact that this is the first novel of a young, female Australian author - a group of writers I like to support whenever I can. The cover, gloriously colourful and yet discreet at the same time. And then there is the author's name - how gorgeous and unique is it?? You will be pleased to know that after all that the content did not let me down.
Past The Shallows is the story of Harry, the youngest of three brothers living with their father on the remote south coast of Tasmania after the death of their mother. Harry is the observer and recorder of the family history - it is through his eyes that we learn of the difficulties in his family, how much his father is struggling, emotionally and financially and how the three brothers are each trying to carve out an existence in an isolated family and environment.
The sea is a constant presence in the story - it is the way Harry's father earns a living and it is also a big source of comfort and pleasure for each of the boys in some way. Parrett is obviously extremely knowledgeable about this landscape and the essence of the water and the way each character interacts with and responds to it comes across clearly in the story.
The characters all came across strongly in the story but Harry was especially powerful, It was interesting to read Parrett talk about the character of Harry in an interview after the book was published;

"I love Harry very much. Sometimes it still makes me cry when I think about him. He is a very special character to me - some kind of gift really"

It is so lovely to hear an author speak this way about a character she has created - and this passion certainly comes through in the character of Harry and the story he creates.

In some ways this is such a simple book - in its structure and prose - but in other ways it is deeply complex - and definitely very moving.

Fall Girl - Toni Jordan

I had read Toni Jordan's debut novel, Addition, in early 2009 and loved it - so much so that I have been waiting ever since then for her to release her second book.

Fall Girl was released last week in Australia and I devoted my reading time over the past weekend solely to it.

The fall girl of the title is Della Gilmore, a young woman living with her extended family of con artists in the suburbs of Melbourne. The Gilmore family have always been in the conning trade. Della's father is the patriarch of the bunch and Della has learnt most of her trade secrets from him, her brother, aunt and uncle and cousins. They rely on each other for their work and their income and it has all been going pretty swimmingly by the sound of things.

Della's latest con is to parade herself as an award winning science academic and researcher - Dr Ella Canfield - in order to score a $25,000 research grant to search for the existence of the Tasmanian tiger - a creature that has been listed as extinct for over 70 years. If she is going to win the grant Della has to convince the administrator of the grant, the sexy, confidant, intelligent and wealthy Daniel Metcalf, that she is the real deal.

I'm sure you can see where this is heading.

I was so disappointed with this book. Whereas in Addition Jordan created an original, flawed, interesting main character I found the opposite to be the case in Fall Girl. True, you don't come across a suburban con artist in everyday life (at least I hope I don't!) but that was really the only original aspect to this book and the character of Della/Ella.

There seemed to be too many characters and sub plots and relationship details to enable to reader to focus on the main story - maybe the author was trying to pull a con of her own and confuse the reader with smoke and mirrors??! The ending for me was just the icing on the disappointing cake - I'm not sure where it came from at all as it seemed to introduce a desire of the main character that hadn't been explored at all in the novel up until that point.

Certainly an easy to read book - but there was very little substance for me unfortunately.

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden was the selection for my Book Club last month and I have to say that when I first heard it was the book we would be reading I wasn't all that excited. I had already read this book when it first came out after reading, and loving, the author's first book - The Shifting Fog (or The House at Riverton as it is named in the UK) and I was disappointed that I was going to be "forced" to read a book that I hadn't enjoyed all that much the first time all over again! I had initially felt let down by Morton's second novel - on my first reading I hadn't felt that The Forgotten Garden was as powerful or as original as The Shifting Fog - but my second reading has definitely redeemed the book in my eyes.

The Forgotten Garden (as does Morton's first book) moves between locations, time periods and characters. As the book starts we are introduced to Nell O'Connor who is living in the Australian city of Brisbane in 1930, about to turn 21 and marry her young sweetheart. On the night of her Birthday party her father tells her a secret that he has been keeping from her since she was a young girl - a secret that will eventually send Nell to the English countryside to discover the truth about her history.

Linked in with Nell's story is the story of her granddaughter, Cassandra who learns some of Nell's story after her death and then travels to England herself to track down more of the story and the story of a two young women who despite growing up in very different circumstances in the early 1900's England are intricately linked with each other and with Nell and Cassandra's story.

Ahh the links! They are really the crux of the success (or failure) of this story and for some reason I felt they worked better on the second reading for me - even though I knew how everything turned out in the end! The stories are woven together with themes of art, fairy tales, the essence of truth and connection and loss. It might have been a case of the right book at the right time for me on this occasion but I felt the themes and links worked well to produce a great story and an enjoyable read.

The Slap - Christos Tsiolikas

The Slap has already won a stack of prizes and awards and most recently was named on the Man Booker Prize Long List for 2010. The book has also generated a lot of discussion amongst Australian readers, bloggers and literary critics and some of my close friends have read the book and have had very strong views on it - but despite all of this I still hadn't read The Slap myself. I've changed all that now though and I am so glad!

The Slap literally starts with a slap. A group of friends and family are gathered in a Melbourne suburban backyard for a BBQ, a children's game of cricket turns feisty and one of the adults slaps a young child who is not his own. From this action we continue to follow the group as they return to their own homes and carry on with their lives.

The book is told in the voices of different characters in alternate chapters and I felt this was a great narrative technique for this book as it helped us see the event at the BBQ from the viewpoint of different players such as the "slapper" himself, the child's mother, the family whose house the BBQ took place at etc...

This book is so rich in detail and characterisation - I felt each character in this book could have been fleshed out even further and had a book devoted just to them. The suburban world is created fully and I felt as though I could walk down the street the next day and run into any of these characters - they felt that alive and real.

The story itself was brilliant - such a simple concept in many ways but it is so complex in the thoughts, views, opinions and emotions it raises in the characters - and readers. This is a book that stayed with me even when I wasn't reading it - and it has definitely stayed with me now that I have finished it. For me, The Slap deserves all of the praise that has come its way - I can't wait to read more from this author.

Campaign Ruby - Jessica Rudd

As an Australian citizen currently in the midst of a painful, drawn out national election campaign I could not go past reading Campaign Ruby when it was released (in a timely manner!) last week.

Campaign Ruby is the fiction debut of the former Australian Prime Minister's daughter, Jessica Rudd. As it's title suggests, it follows a (fictional) national election campaign and the role of Ruby Stanhope, an English investment banker who has just been unceremoniously sacked from her high flying job and finds herself in Australia looking for a new life direction - only to find herself with a new job as an advisor to the leader of the opposition (LOO).

The novel takes advantage of quite a few coincidences to keep the plot flowing, for example, Ruby finding herself at a party on her first night in Australia where the opposition leader and his chief of staff are attending and they just happen to "bump into" Ruby and hire her on the spot without knowing a thing about her apart from the fact that she has worked in banking - in the UK!! But I found myself overlooking these moments because apart from them the novel worked really well for me. It is clear that Rudd has a clear understanding and an insiders knowledge of the election and political process and this adds a strong authenticity to the story and the characters. Rudd writes well and uses humour well - although I did find some of the antics that Ruby got into a little childish and unneeded. The opening chapter is one of the funniest I have read in a while and really set the character of Ruby up for readers.

I'm not sure how this book would translate for non-Australian readers as it does involve quite a lot of the Australian political context - but I am wondering if this is why Rudd made her main character English as Ruby herself needs to have a few things explained to her as she goes along which would help non-Australian readers I think.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Rudd produces next - I hope she is able to take her skills into another topic area and do just as well - or maybe there will be a sequel in the future??

The World Beneath - Cate Kennedy

The World Beneath is a perfect example of how award lists can lead to amazing reads. The book is on the short list for the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 2010 which I wrote about here.

I am ashamed to say that I had not really heard of Cate Kennedy before seeing her name on the list but I will certainly be keeping an eye out for all of her work from now on.

The World Beneath is a character novel focusing on a fractured family consisting of Sandy, Rich and their 15 year old daughter, Sophie. Sandy and Rich first met when they were young and idealistic and fighting for a cause - in this case the protest against the Franklin River dam in Tasmania in the early 1980's. They stayed together after this cataclysmic event in both their lives but when Sophie was born Rich decided he wasn't quite up for the suburban family life and he left Sandy and Sophie to explore his own life. The World Beneath starts 15 years later when Rich plans a week long bush walk for himself and Sophie as an attempt to reconnect with the daughter he has hardly seen since.

This is an amazing novel that kept me up reading late at night in an attempt to finish it. Kennedy's ability to construct each character separately and also make a character out of their less than functional family unit is incredible - I am in awe of her skill! Each character is clear and raw and flawed - they feel real and because of that I connected with them throughout the story even when there were times when I couldn't stand them!

If you enjoy reading novels where character development and reflection is the main focus than this is book for you - it will have you thinking long after you have finished it.

Award Time in Australia

It seems like everywhere you turn in the media these days there is a new literary award long list or short list being announced. I do like browsing these lists - they don't necessarily dictate my future reading selections but they often give me more choices to add to the TBR pile.
The short lists for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2010 have just been announced and the Christina Stead Prize for fiction short list is given here.
On the short list is (with the ones I have read in bold):

Summertime - J. M. Coetzee
Wanting - Richard Flanagan
The World Beneath - Cate Kennedy
88 Lines About 44 Women - Steven Lang
Ransom - David Malouf
Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey

The winner will be announced on May 17th and seeing as though there are only 4 books I will need to read to have read all of the short list I am thinking about doing it. Have any of you read any from this list and if so, would you recommend them?

Writing, Workshops & Revelations

As many of you know I spent one day this week attending a writing workshop with one of my new favourite authors, Kirsten Tranter whose first novel, The Legacy was a big hit with me when I read it a few weeks ago.

During the first part of the workshop Kirsten spoke about the process of obtaining a literary agent and sending in submissions of your work to agents for review. Kirsten's mother is actually quite a successful literary agent in Australia and Kirsten has worked for her agency reading and reviewing manuscripts in the past so it would be obvious to think that she had a significant leg up in the publishing world but it was interesting to hear her talk about her own process of finding an agent and how she did not automatically go to her mother. I found hearing about the whole publishing process really interesting and it led to a revelation for me - as others in the class were asking about how they could get themselves and their writing accepted by an agent I just found myself wanting to hear more about the selection, editing and publishing process. I realised I am much more of a reader than a writer! This felt like such a liberation to me! I do love writing but I realised I do not have a deep desire or life time goal to have a book or piece of writing published as many others in the workshop did. I realised I do want my next career to be in the book industry though and I am planning to do further study to pursue this goal next year - I just have to decide what course to do now...

Kirsten spent time talking openly about her process of writing The Legacy and I found this really interesting too. The Legacy is an interpretation of The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, a book I had read long ago in my university days but am now very keen to re-read. Kirsten also spoke about some of her favourite authors such as Kate Atkinson and John Banville and their writing techniques that she finds effective and engaging.

Overall I found the workshop interesting, informative and inspiring - exactly what you want a workshop to be!

The Legacy - Kirsten Tranter

Don't you hate it when you read a fantastic book and it is the author's only or first novel?? All you want to do is go straight out and pick up another book by the same author to keep the magic going but you just can't!! It drives my reading mind mad! This is the exact feeling I had after finishing The Legacy.

I picked this book up a couple of weeks ago based on the wonderful cover which caught my attention and a combination of the description of the book and the praise on the book from another author I have enjoyed reading, Debra Adelaide. I was then pleased to see some really positive reviews about the book in our local media. But even with all of this I was not prepared for how much I would love this book and the writing displayed by Tranter.

The description of the book focuses on the character of Ingrid, a beautiful young Australian woman who moves to New York after marrying her art collector/businessman American husband, Gil Grey. From this description I was expecting Ingrid to be the real focus of the book - and she is in many ways - but the main character focus for me was Ingrid's friend, and the narrator of the book, Julia. Julia and Ingrid are introduced through Ingrid's cousin and Julia's friend, Ralph and the three become close friends during their university studies in Sydney.

The main action in the book takes place after September 11, 2001 when Ingrid is believed killed in the World Trade Tower attacks and Julia travels to New York a year after this event to discover more about the life Ingrid was leading once she had moved from Australia to marry and become a step mother to a child prodigy artist.

I found the writing and character development in this book brilliant. Tranter seems to move the plot and the characters without you really being aware of it as a reader - you just suddenly realise what has happened and the transition has been so smooth you were oblivious in a way. To me this is a sign of a great writer - I become so immersed in the world of the story I don't notice what the writer is trying to do - the action is seamless. The worlds of Sydney, New York and Paris were also beautifully written and described - the cities were clearly characters themselves and contributed so much to the way the human characters developed.

The characters felt solid and believable - they were rounded and full of flaws which always makes for a great story. The story itself could be read on so many different levels I think - for me it was a mystery, a love story, a narrative on the role that art, friendship and family play in our lives and a story of grief and loss but also hope.

I absolutely loved the experience of reading this book - I just hope Tranter is already writing her second!

A Fraction Of The Whole - Steve Toltz

Even though A Fraction Of The Whole had been shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize and it was by an Australian author (I like to support our home grown writers as much as possible) I was not really drawn to read this one. Then I saw the book praised very highly indeed by one of my favourite local journalists and I thought I would give it a go.

The book started out very positively for me - a striking opening paragraph to draw you in and then some funny, sharp writing to follow that introduction. The narrator of the book, Jasper Dean is in prison - for what exactly we don't know but it clear he is going to tell us eventually.

The premise of the book is that it tells the story of the Dean family. Jasper's father and uncle both become very well known identities and personalities in Australia - but both for very different reasons - and Jasper seems to be eternally caught in the middle of their fame and infamy trying to carve out an existence for himself.

The book could definitely be described as a "saga" and I don't mean that in a melodramatic, soap opera kind of way. The book covers so much in terms of time, geography and emotion. At times I thought the book was moving too fast and there was not going to be enough time to tell the whole story, but then, given that the book is 710 pages long, I admit there were times towards the end when I thought things were dragging a little.

Toltz is an amazing story teller - it felt as though Jasper was there in front of you narrating his life - there was definitely a connection and sense of empathy built even though some of the events and actions taken by the characters are (thankfully!) far outside the realm of what I would be expecting to experience in my own life!

When I finished the book my partner asked me if I had liked it and I honestly couldn't give an answer to the question because I was not sure! It was a fantastic read and an amazing story but could I say I 'liked' the story?? I'm still not sure about the answer to that one but I know that I am glad that I have read it and that I can pass it on to others. I will definitely be reading more work by this author.

Lovesong - Alex Miller

I am ashamed to say that I have not read any of Australian author Alex Miller's work before - I'm not sure why really. I have certainly heard of him and his work before now but they never seemed to jump out at me. When I saw Lovesong though it's beautiful cover did jump out at me.

Lovesong is the story of a story - or several stories. Melbourne based author, Ken, has just returned from an extended trip to Venice after the release of his most recent novel - a novel he has decided will be his last. He returns home to the house he shares with his adult daughter, Clare, wondering where his life will take him now. Ken then meets John, his wife Sabiha and their young daughter, Houria, who have opened a bakery near to his home. Ken starts up a tentative friendship with John who tells him about his story with Sabiha - how they met in Paris at Sabiha's aunt's Tunisian cafe, Chez Dom and how they built a life and a relationship together there. There is a lot of pain and tragedy to their story - I was completely absorbed in this - it felt real and honest and even though it had the potential to be quite melodramatic this didn't happen.

The structure of the novel sounds so simple but it is really quite complex as Ken retells John's story that has been told to him and we see John and Sabiha's relationship through both of their eyes and perspectives.

I will certainly be looking out for more of Alex Miller's work after reading this one - a beautiful story teller.

The Gift of Speed - Steven Carroll

The Gift of Speed is the second book in the Australian suburbs trilogy (not the official title but it is how I am referring to the books!) by Steven Carroll.

After reading and loving the first book, The Art of the Engine Driver I was keen to keep moving with this series. The Gift of Speed picks up about 10 years after the first book, in October 1960, and although I liked to have the context of that first book in mind when reading this one it should be pointed out that the books could easily be read independently of one another.

The main focus of the story, as the title points out, is speed and how it can be achieved - especially in relation to the character of 16 year old Michael and his dream to bowl the perfect fast cricket ball delivery. Now, I don't think you need to be a cricket fan, or even necessarily have any cricket knowledge to enjoy this book - but it would help. Michael is obsessed with the game and his dream to be a fast bowler and his narrative in this book coincides with the West Indies cricket team tour of Australia over the summer of 1960/1961. Fortunately, although I wouldn't say I was a total cricket nut I do have some knowledge of the game thanks to growing up with a sports journalist for a father and a brother who reminds me a lot of Michael!

Although Michael's story isn't the whole of the story in this novel it is a great percentage of it - it is certainly the story that I was most interested in - how much do we want things when we are young (personally, I wanted to be a singer just like Olivia Newton John!) and how much does it hurt when we don't get them.

The rest of the story does keep showing us what is happening in Michael's suburb and particularly what is happening with his parents, Vic and Rita, and their relationship.

I did not enjoy The Gift of Speed as much as The Art of the Engine Driver but still a beautiful and memorable story which will lead me to reading this last book in the series.

The Art of the Engine Driver - Steven Carroll

I have discovered a new favourite writer - even though I loved The Lost Life I was still a little hesitant about reading some of Carroll's earlier novels - I wasn't quite sure that a story about an Australian suburb in the 1950's would excite me too much - but I was wrong!

The Art Of The Engine Driver felt seamless to me - the writing, the story and the characters just flowed. I didn't want the story to end but at the same time I just couldn't stop reading it.

The story begins with a family, Vic, Rita and Michael, walking down their street to attend an engagement party for a neighbour. As they walk we learn about their past and what has led them to this suburb at this time. We learn about Vic's passion for his job as a train driver and how he and Rita first met and fell in love. We also hear about Vic's serious drinking problem and how that is impacting on his relationship with both Rita and Michael and, as the story unfolds, we learn about a secret that Vic is keeping from his employers.

As the family walk down the street and pass each house the story of the people in that house is told and reflected upon so that by the time the family reach the party we have a really clear picture of the neighbourhood - and some of the tensions that will be evident at the party.

This suburban story is happening at the same time as a train journey from Melbourne to Sydney - a journey that will correspond with the events at the party as the story goes on.

I know it sounds quite simple - and in some ways it is - but the storytelling is divine and the characterisation perfect. I felt for all of these characters, loved some and hated others - but they all evoked a reaction from me.

The Art Of The Engine Driver is the first book in a trilogy and I will certainly be reading the other two very soon.

The Lost Life - Steven Carroll

I must admit I have not really been tempted to pick up one of Steven Carroll's books before - even though he is an award winning Australian author I just didn't think his novels and their subject matter were all that appealing to me. I am so, so glad I was tempted to pick up The Lost Life though - because it means I have now discovered another amazing author to add to my TBR pile.

I was drawn to The Lost Life for a couple of reasons - firstly the cover. I know it is completely superficial but the cover of a book does make a difference for me - I have to feel drawn to it and it has to feel "right" - by that I mean, right for the book it is representing and portraying. The cover of The Lost Life felt perfect to me - and I feel that way even more now that I have finished the book.

The second thing that drew me in to reading this book was it's setting - England, September 1934 - both a location and an era in time which I love reading about.

The story of the book centres around two couples - Catherine and Daniel, young and newly in love and an older couple T.S. Eliot and Emily Hale. The paths of the two couples cross over in the garden of an English country estate one September afternoon where Catherine and Daniel observe the older couple (without their knowledge) engaging in a poetic and romantic ritual declaring their love for each other - a love that cannot be openly acknowledged due to Eliot's marriage to another woman.

The events of that afternoon lead to interactions between the two couples but especially between Catherine and Emily and we see quite clearly the different stages the two women are at both in terms of their relationships and their lives in general. It is these narratives that guide the story and allow us to see into the lives of the individuals, but also the relationships, in such an acute way.

I must admit I am not a huge poetry reader and really only know about T.S. Eliot from having to study his poems (particularly The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock) in my university days so I was not sure how close to reality this fictional relationship between the poet and Emily Hale actually was - this article from The Australian has some interesting insights - although it does have a couple of spoilers in relation to the book so I would recommend reading it afterwards if you are interested.

This book is simply gorgeous - I read it over two nights but could have finished it quicker if I didn't need sleep! A quote on the back of the book from The Australian newspaper declares this "A writer worth cherishing. His prose is unfailingly assured, lyrical, poised" - I could not possibly put it better myself.

The Women in Black - Madeleine St John

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of the Australian author Madeleine St John before being attracted to the recently re-released cover of The Women in Black. This was her first novel published when the author was 52 years old in 1993 and has been re-released with a forward by Australian film maker Bruce Beresford and an obituary by the author's publisher (St John died in 2006). St John also had a book short listed for the Booker Prize in 1997 - The Essence of The Thing.

The Women in Black is the author's only book set in the country of her birth - Australia. It follows the lives of a group of female sales assistants working in the high class Sydney department store, Goodes, in the 1960's. Goodes is a fictional store but it is believed that St John based her setting on the real David Jones department store of the time.

Mrs Williams (Patty) and Miss Baines (Fay) work with others in the Ladies Cocktail Frocks section of the store - an area that is becoming increasingly busy as Christmas draws near as the book opens. The group is joined by temporary staff member, Lesley (who prefers to be called Lisa) a young girl who has just finished her leaving certificate at high school and is waiting anxiously to see if her results will be high enough for her to earn a scholarship at university.

The gorgeous, exotic and voluptuous Magda works in the Model Gowns section of the store (one of a kind gowns sold to women who do not want to attend a function looking like anyone else) and she enters the lives of these women in Ladies Cocktail Frocks in subtle - but no less dramatic ways.

I can't believe I have not discovered this book before - I devoured it in basically one sitting yesterday and I just wanted it to keep going - although the ending was divine and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I think it helped that I have spent quite a bit of time at the David Jones department store in Elizabeth St in Sydney so even though this book is set in a time before I was born I still feel like I had a familiar context firmly in mind as I was reading the book. Lesley/Lisa is a gorgeous character and over the short course of the book you do see her develop which is lovely to watch. Just a gorgeous, sweet, beautiful read!

Wanting - Richard Flanagan

Wanting is another book from my Best Australian Reads of 2008 list.

I had seen this book around quite a bit last year and despite enjoying the last Richard Flanagan book I read (The Unknown Terrorist) I did not pick it up - I think my fear was that the subject matter would be too much at a time when I was looking for some light reading. That's one reason I am grateful for reading lists and challenges - I have rarely come across a book I have regretted reading from these lists and Wanting is no exception.

Wanting is a haunting book - there is really no other way for me to describe my reading of it. I felt mesmerised by the story being played out in front of me and the characters that were playing it out.

The book is set in 2 main time periods and locations, Tasmania, Australia in 1839 and London in 1857. In the Tasmanian setting of the book we see Sir John Franklin, Governor of the state and his wife Lady Jane "adopt" a local Aboriginal girl, Mathinna and attempt to educate her in the ways of a white European. For Lady Jane the young girl is a sort of replacement for the children she was never able to have - although she pulls herself back from displaying any sort of affection or motherly love for the child fearing that it will spoil the experiment that is her education and transformation. For his part, Sir John leaves his decision making very much to his wife - both in personal and business matters - leaving Mathinna stuck in a limbo between two worlds. This story is based on a true story and although the author does not make claims of his novel being a history of the period or events he does list extensive sources he utilised in the writing of the book on his website.

The second storyline takes place 18 years after the above (although the two narratives are not written concurrently in the book - the focus swaps from one to the other throughout the story) and focuses on Charles Dickens and his links with the Sir John and Lady Jane story. After being forced out of being the Governor of Tasmania Sir John returns to England for a while before embarking on a exploration of the Arctic - a journey from which he will never return. After his failure to return from the voyage Lady Jane seeks the support and assistance of Dickens in disputing a theory that the men on the exploration resorted to cannibalism. Dickens does offer support to Lady Jane as well as basing a new play on the arctic storyline. It is through Dickens's writing and performing of this play that we see his yearnings - for his life and his writing - played out.

Both of these story lines and their coming together through the theme of yearning and wanting captured me from the beginning. Even though I have read some of Dickens' novels I must admit I have known little about his life - something I am now going to rectify. The story of Australian history and the injustices that were brought to the Aboriginal people by white Europeans is something that is more familiar to me but I think it is an area of our history that we can never know too much about. I think Richard Flanagan handles both story lines wonderfully - the writing is engaging and deliberate and in a way, poetic. A wonderful book.

Butterfly - Sonya Hartnett

Butterfly is the first Sonya Hartnett novel I have read even though she is quite a well known and well published Australian author. For some reason I was under the impression that Hartnett was primarily a young adult fiction writer (not that this would have stopped me from picking up her work) but Butterfly is most definitely, I feel, a book for the grown ups.

The main character in Butterfly is the almost 14 year old Ariella Coyle - better known as Plum to her friends and family. Plum is struggling with all of the trappings that are afflicted upon us in early adolescence:

Carefully she scans her face, her shoulders, her waist, grimaces at the sight of a meaty bottom and thighs. Her hands gather her hair in a dense ponytail, and her face, unshielded, looks round and inflames, her eyes the tarred tips of poison darts. Her arms are strong, her neck utilitarian, not vulnerable at all: indeed, Plum's entire body is somehow too much - too tall, too thriving, too there. Her stomach is the colour of uncooked dough, and feels, when poked, like dough. Ariella Coyle, aged nearly fourteen, waylaid monstrously on the path to being grown. "There is no God," she tells her reflection: as quickly as that, she knows it is true. "And even if there was a God, " she adds vindictively, "He wouldn't love you. Look at you. Nobody could love you".

Ahh, the early teenage years - the pain, angst and self-loathing that seems to accompany it all. Plum's thoughts and painful processing certainly made me think back to my early adolescence and there were definitely some connections made with Plum's sufferings. A strength of the novel is the way in which Hartnett captures these feelings and thoughts - quite accurately for me.

Plum is a member of quite a catty, all too real, friendship group of girls - all battling for the same level of acceptance and status within the group. Plum in particular wants to belong and been seen as worthy of the friendships - and goes to quite painful lengths to find this.

At home Plum is the youngest child and only daughter - in some ways living in the shadows of her older, more gifted and attractive older brothers, Justin and Cydar.

As Plum is fighting her way through the rituals of adolescence she makes friends with an older neighbour, the married mother of one, Maureen. What begins as a mentoring relationship for Plum quickly shows itself as something more sinister as the real reason for Maureen befriending Plum becomes clear.

In some ways this book is two or three stories within one - but you never feel as though too much has been taken on by the author. Hartnett balances the characters and the story lines beautifully. This book was not at all what I expected when I started reading it but once I accepted this I enjoyed the rather uneasy storyline. The ending is also an interesting one - I'm still thinking on that one...

Addition - Toni Jordan

In pursuit of one of my personal reading goals for this year, to read all of the books on this Best Australian Fiction 2008 list, I have just finished Addition by Toni Jordan.

This was a book I had seen and heard a lot about last year but for some reason it just never made it to my reading pile. I'm glad it has now.

The central character in Jordan's first novel is Grace Lisa Vandenburg - a woman obsessively connected to counting everything in her life. The mental health professional in me was seeing "disorder" written all over this character but I was glad I was able to get past my judgemental labelling and see this character for what she was - a funny, smart, engaging woman who probably had a better handle on her life than many people she came across (scenes in the later part of the book when Grace attends "group therapy" are hilarious!).

I guess this novel is essentially a self-discovery/love story - Grace meets a man (adorable and accepting Seamus) and they of course have to go through the stages all relationships must - the meeting, the greeting, the getting to know etc... But all of this is done through the filter of Grace's need to count, and count, and count...

The writing is sharp - as is the character of Grace. I finished it feeling satisfied in the story but still wanting to hear more about Grace and her world - a sign of a great book for me.

Best Australian Reads - 2008

The ABC Radion program "The Book Show" ran a poll asking it's listeners to send in their best Australian reads of 2008. The fiction list is copied below with the ones I have read in bold:

Addition – Toni Jordan
Breath – Tim Winton
Enigma – Graeme Base
Everything I Knew – Peter Goldsworthy
People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
Saltwater Moons – Julie Gittus
Sea of Many Returns – Arnold Zable
Tales from Outer Suburbia – Shaun Tan
The Boat – Nam Le
The Build Up – Phillip Gwynne
The Good Parents – Joan London
The Lieutenant – Kate Grenville
The Lifeboat – Zacharey Jane
The Lost Dog – Michelle de Kretser
The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
The Spare Room – Helen Garner
Wanting – Richard Flanagan

There are still quite a few on this list I haven't read so I think I will make the completion of this list one of my personal reading goals for 2009. Can anyone give me any feedback on any of these I haven't read so far?