Five Bells - Gail Jones

Five Bells is the latest novel from Australian author, Gail Jones. I have not read any of her previous novels but there was something about the description of this novel that captured my reading fancy. The book is told from the perspective of four characters over the course of one day as they each travel to the tourist spot of Circular Quay in Sydney for different reasons. I love books that are totally contained in one day - there is something about that narrative technique that really appeals to me as a reader.

The characters in Five Bells are each struggling with memories and experiences from their pasts - experiences that they are very much carrying with them in their present. Ellie and James knew each other as children and adolescents and they are recollecting their pasts together as they come to meet each other for the first time in years as adults. James is haunted by an accident in his recent past - an incident that he dearly wants to share with Ellie and perhaps unburden himself in some way.

Pei Xing is an older Chinese woman who emigrated to Australia with her young son after her brutal treatment during China's Cultural Revolution and Catherine is an Irish journalist, escaping to Sydney after the sudden death of her beloved brother.

This is a beautiful, lyrical novel - I wouldn't recommend it if you are a fan of lots of "action" in your books - held together by the memories and stories of the individual characters. The depth of each character is felt and each of their stories would easily make a novel on its own. In some ways the novel is an exploration of the role of past experiences in our present lives - how they impact and are carried with us - no matter where we travel or what we do.

I loved reading this book - I was carried away by each of the characters - my only minor complaint is regarding the "event" that comes towards the end of the novel that is supposed to bring the characters together in some way - I'm not sure that it was really needed and it felt as though it was just dropped into the storyline and not really built in as it might have been. But this could be just my reading of the book and I have missed something along the way! I did recognise the importance of the number five throughout the novel (in line with the title) and the importance of there being five key players instead of four.

Overall, I fell in love with Jones' writing style and characterisation and I will be keeping an eye out for her earlier novels.

A Weekend With Books, Chocolate and Neil Gaiman

It was my partner's Birthday over the past weekend and I had arranged a few things to spoil him on the day - which luckily for me meant I got to tag along and join in all the fun!
We spent the weekend in Sydney which of course meant a trip to some of our favourite book shops and all of the inevitable purchases that go along with that (more about those in another post). But the highlight of the weekend was a night at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall to hear Neil Gaiman read aloud his latest short story, The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains , which has just been released in a book Gaiman has co-edited simply titled, Stories.

Gaiman was appearing at the Opera House as part of the Graphic Festival. Gaiman's performance was accompanied by illustrations by Eddie Campbell (which appeared on a huge screen behind where Gaiman was standing to read) and original, live music performed by the FourPlay string quartet who played alongside Gaiman and certainly helped to set the scene.
The story itself was simple and yet haunting and memorable - and Gaiman's reading of it was prefectly timed and pitched. A wonderful night which was followed with views like this when we came out of the theatre:

We topped the weekend off with a visit to the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place - so delicious!

New Purchases

So, I went to Sydney for work today and as predicted (by myself!) I visited some bookshops and made some purchases.

I actually didn't have a lot of time to browse today or the damage done could have been a lot worse!

I ended up buying:

1. No Angel - Penny Vincenzi; I have seen her books before but thought they always looked a bit light and fluffy - not that there's anything wrong with that - just not usually my cup of tea. But based on Danielle's excellent recommendation I'm going to give this one a go. I already started it on the train on the way home and it's one of the first times I can remember wanting a train journey to take longer! A good sign of things to come.

2. My other purchase was Selected Stories - Alice Munro; this is a book I have listed to read for the New Classics Challange and my local library does not seem to carry a copy so I think the purchase was well justified. Besides, from all I have heard of Alice Munro I am thinking I will want to have a copy of this one for myself.

Reading and Pondering Possible Promises...

I am still going with Twilight and although I am enjoying it to a degree I keep wanting to yell "get on with it!" to the author. The very tedious descriptive passages of looks and feelings are starting to get to me a bit. And yet, I'm still reading it so there must be something there. My motto is "Life's too short to read crappy books" and by crappy I mean books that I am just not enjoying or interested in - not just those that I feel are badly written. I'm not sure how other people operate but I have no problems with just putting a book aside if I am not enjoying it, never to return to it. My father can't stand this trait in me - he will read a book to the end once he has started it no matter what.

In light of an earlier post about my reading/book collection/to be read pile and list getting a little out of control I am thinking about (and it is just a thought at the moment!) not purchasing or borrowing another book to add to the pile until I have gone through all the current options. This is something I have thought about before but I have never actually followed through - will I this time?

I'm making a trip to Sydney tomorrow and will no doubt be "forced" to browse through one of my favourite bookshops there - so not sure if I will enact the promise just yet...