Book Review (archive) 2024 

The story is set in Deane, a small rundown town in rural Australia, in the 1960’s.

Odette, a widowed Aboriginal woman is raising her 12-year-old granddaughter, Sissy, on her own. Sissy’s mother left when Sissy was aged one, without revealing who the baby’s father was. There is a close, affectionate bond between Odette and Sissy, and following the disappearance of her daughter, Odette has vowed to raise and safeguard her granddaughter.

Things take a menacing turn when the cruel and officious Sergeant Lowe arrives in the town to take over from the long-serving police officer Bill Shea. Shea has become lax in his duties partly because of his long association with the residents and also because he drinks heavily. As the new police presence in Deane, and the ‘Guardian’ of the Aboriginal people in the town, Lowe is determined to record and pursue every child of mixed heritage. Sissy comes to his attention almost immediately.

When local boy Aaron Kane, who has been brutally abused by his father, starts bullying and harassing Sissy, Odette knows she must remove Sissy from the town as no-one will protect her. Odette gets assistance from her old school friend Harry Lamb, a white man but a fellow outcast living on the outskirts of the town, and Bill Shea who, in a surprising act of kindness, provides the necessary paperwork for Odette to travel. Sissy’s light skin tone allows her to be passed off as a ‘white girl’ on the journey, and therefore permitted to travel. Odette accompanies her in the guise of her carer or nanny.

On their travels, Odette and Sissy meet Jack Harris, an Aboriginal man who has been granted an exemption certificate, and he invites them into his home.

At its heart, this is a story about power, subordination and injustice, and the terror that arises when power is combined with a total lack of humanity.

The novel had mixed reviews in the group, with scores ranging from 3.5 to 9. Some thought it too simplistic, and the characters too one-dimensional. They said they found it patronizing. Others enjoyed the book and felt it conveyed an important message about the inhumane treatment of Indigenous people at this time. It was suggested that if the format was simple, this may have been to make the story and message accessible to the widest possible audience.

Lissa, Discussion Leader

John le Carré (aka David John Moore Cornwell) has been called the “great master of the spy story; a writer of towering gifts” and, while he was alive, “our greatest living master of espionage fiction”. We have just read and discussed his 1993 novel “The Night Manager” which was his first novel set post-Cold War, and deals with ruthless arms dealers and corrupt intelligence agencies. The book is 475 pages of small print and, typical of le Carré, the plot is extremely complex. There is a cast of dozens of characters whose relationships can be obscure and it is often unclear who is a “goodie” and who is a “baddie”. Do the baddies get their just deserts? That’s not clear either.  But we had a jolly good, robust discussion about it!

The book boasts a typical le Carré plot:  the story of 2 men and the women in between them, who get caught up in international conflicts.  A complex intelligence plan is set in motion, aiming to put the protagonist among the enemies by having them believe he has been abandoned by his own side.  The story unfolds in 3 main sections – an introduction to Jonathan Pine – protagonist; the recruitment (complete with newly-created identity) of Pine by Leonard Burr – UK intelligence; and ultimately the result of Pine’s cover being blown by both US and UK intelligence agencies: the apparent “goodies”.

The "baddies” are headed by all-time evil crook Richard (Dickie) Roper.  An extremely wealthy and powerful arms and drug dealer, with worldwide links to ruthless underworld gangs, as well as members of the Intelligence communities.

“He’s a bastard…He plunders everywhere and everyone…he’s done the lot. If you step out of line, you’ll wish you’d never been born…he’s going for the deal to end all deals…”

Members of the Book Club group agreed that it is, indeed, an elaborately long, globe-trotting story with an expansive structure that does generate great suspense. While difficult to read in places - almost impossible to follow at times with such a plethora of characters and (some felt) an over-dose of detail – everyone ploughed on to the end and each was glad they did!

There are some beautifully written sections in this tome and we all managed to share some of these, along with our favourite characters. You will need to read the book to see how you feel about the ending; we had mixed responses but, overall, the positive enjoyment of the read outweighed the negatives …. or at least most of them!

Our straw-poll came in with an average of 7.2/10, with scores ranging from 5 to 10 and a hearty recommendation to read this great spy story for yourself.

(If reading the book seems too daunting, the mini-series available on Amazon and DVD, is well worth watching.  Beware though, there are some major differences to the book, but it’s good to know that le Carré himself was very happy with these alterations to his epic tale!).

Cate, Discussion Leader & Carol, Book Club Coordinator

This book, published in 2018, is a memoir that describes a year in the life of 12-year-old Justin, who lives alone with his mother (in Burnie, Tasmania) who suffers from schizophrenia.  It is clear that Justin experiences considerable anxiety about his mother and her behaviour; from one day to the next he never knows whether his mother will be “well” or “ill” and he longs for a “normal” mother, and a more stable and caring home environment.  Having said that, he is not without support which is provided by his grandparents, the next-door neighbour, and his friends and teachers at school. It is clear, however, that Justin wants to be the centre of his mother’s attention and he feels he isn’t because he has to compete with the voices his mother hears.   It is equally clear that his mother does love him, does hear him and does pay attention to him, but that’s insufficient for Justin who frequently comes across as being self-centred and spoiled.

Taking the book at face value, Justin is an extremely sensitive, perceptive and talented boy, but is that the ‘real’ child-Justin, or the memories and perceptions of an adult-Justin reflecting on his childhood?  There are contradictions when, for example, we read the end-of-school essay written by Justin (sophisticated and emotive) and compare it with extracts from his diary (childish and trivial).

The quality of writing varied considerably; some parts were evocative and beautifully described, but unfortunately the majority, particularly the first half or more, was tedious, repetitious and, frankly, boring.  Was this a deliberate ploy by Heazlewood to reflect that’s how his life in Burnie was?

Among the Book Club group, there was a very wide range of opinions about virtually every aspect of the book and this resulted in one of the widest range of scores given to any of the books we’ve read: 1 to 8, with an overall average of 5.1.

Carol, Book Club Coordinator

Basically, this is a book about solving a crime in Stalin’s Russia and focused mainly on the character Leo, who is MGB (political police) under Stalin’s overwhelmingly totalitarian regime. One's understanding of the history of the period is revealed in the way the book is written, through the experiences of the characters. It enables the author, Smith, to provide us with a horrifyingly real and educational story. Officially, Russia is a world with no crime, but when people are accused and investigated under torture, Leo knows that they are always found guilty. He believes in Communism as promoted by the State, and that it will bring about the perfect world. He is in denial about the results of his investigations.

His wife, Raisa is an enigma to us until Smith reveals her true story and feelings for Leo after he is ordered to investigate her for treason.

Leo’s priorities change after a man he has hunted and captured, who Leo knows to be innocent, is tortured and executed. He also starts to fear that someone is targeting and killing multiple children, but all authorities deny the possibility, as there is no crime, it is treason to believe there is.

The fluidity of a world where anyone, including the law keepers, can become the accused so easily, gives this story unease and deeply justified fear. Leo and Raisa desperately hunt the child killer, Leo having been stripped of authority, debased, abused, and sent on a train journey they are not supposed to survive.

The dialogue is printed in an unusual way, but works well in that format.

The revelation of the murderer’s reason for all the ritualised killings stretches one’s credulity, but so many small things created important sketches of real people:

The boy, desperate to be able to forgive himself for hurting his little brother, who has been ripped open and killed by the murderer.

The angry child planning to kill the cat her father loves more than he loves her.

The sudden sexual need and love of two people knowing that a pain-filled death seems almost inevitable.

This book is a fictionalised exposure of real experiences in a totalitarian regime and brings it home to us that ordinary people, just like us, had to live and cope in those situations. How would we have coped?

Book Club members agreed that it was an important book to have read and were open to reading the second book in what is a trilogy.

Cindi, Discussion Leader

“Chasing the Light” by Jesse Blackadder, was published in 2013.

Book Club members read the historical fiction based in the 1930s on the first women ever to set foot on this last great unconquered frozen continent, which was set in an era of new found independence for women.

Jesse Blackadder immersed the reader in the beauty and danger of the Southern Ocean in a novel of high drama, tension and great beauty. Although historical fiction, many facts were correct as these particular Norwegian women went to Antarctica, some many times.

Robust discussion evolved around whether fictionalising the story and the actions of the women spoiled the story, or whether it breathed light into it, by turning history into adventure, romance, friendships and betrayals, with most agreeing it made the story more interesting.

All agreed that the whale hunting in this era was not sensationalised although quite horrific.

Overall members agreed the writing style and storytelling skills described the dangers of the southern ocean, sights, sounds, and beauty well, the way the women were portrayed, and the characters well developed.

Scores from 10 to 5 were given.

Valda, Discussion Leader

Peter Lum (or Plum to his mates) is an ex-Rugby League player struggling to find meaning and purpose to his life post-NRL. Despite a stellar career that has made him a household name, he lives in a modest weatherboard house with his partner Charmayne and his son Gavin. Recently he has started to experience ‘snowstorms’ in his head, of increasing severity, culminating in an epileptic fit while working as an aircraft tug driver, and almost causing him to tow an Airbus A330 into the path of another plane. A visit to a neurologist confirms that the repeated knocks and concussions he suffered during his no-holds-barred, punishing rugby career has left him with brain damage.  Sadly, Plum’s inability to open up and disclose the problem to Charmayne and Gavin leads to misunderstandings and ruptures his relationship with both.

Cowell uses his novel to draw attention to the impact of head trauma in contact sports, of which NRL is often thought of as the most brutal.  And in a rather surprising juxtaposition, Cowell uses poetry and literature as a vehicle to tap into Plum’s feelings and subconscious and help him deal with the challenges he is facing. In his imagination Plum encounters a series of dead American poets and authors who encourage him to express himself through the medium of poetry.

Another focus of the book is father-son relationships. Plum’s father was an alcoholic, undependable and often absent, leaving Plum feeling sad and neglected. Plum’s illness, and his own drinking and drug taking, make him an unreliable father who, despite his best intentions, repeatedly lets Gavin down, causing an inevitable rift.

The book wasn’t universally popular with the group. Some members were put off by the NRL setting, in which they have no interest. Others were repelled by the brutish and misogynistic reputation of NRL, both of which were evident in the book.  A few struggled with the way the story switched between reality and fantasy, and questioned whether any of the events and interactions in the latter part of the story actually took place.

This is a very unusual book, combining rugby and poetry, and has an important and timely message about sports’ injuries, but it wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea.  The scores ranged from 2 to 8.5.

Lissa, Discussion Leader

“The Arsonist” by Chloe Hooper, published in 2018, documents the search for, and prosecution of the person who deliberately started what came to be known as “The Churchill Fire”, in the Latrobe Valley on Black Saturday in 2009.  The book starts with a report of the meticulous investigation of the fire by the police, and the case they build to identify and then prosecute the person responsible.  This is followed by a section on the defence team and how they built their case, and the culmination is a report of the trial itself.  This all suggests rather a dry and tedious read, but it isn’t; Hooper’s skill is in presenting the facts in a way that makes the book read like a “real-life thriller” without detracting from the distress and trauma experienced by all involved.  We all agreed that the statements of events provided to the investigation team, and the impact statements made in the court by those affected by the fire, were some of the most harrowing and moving words we have ever read.

The other aspect which adds to the complexity of the narrative is that the arsonist is an autistic man, Brendan Sokaluk, a Churchill resident.  Again, Hooper presents the facts, in an impartial and balanced way, about his behaviour and interactions with other people, with the information gained from interviews during the investigation.  It is clear that, despite having incredibly supportive parents, Sokaluk had been bullied and rejected by others most of his life because he was clearly “different”.  We discussed, at length, Sokaluk’s complex character and most agreed that he was cunning, manipulative, vindictive and unpredictable.

We felt that the defence team was sympathetic to Sokaluk and seemed to go beyond what was required of them to support him and his family.  We also felt that the court gave due consideration to Sokaluk’s mental health during his trial; in 2012, Sokaluk was found guilty of the deaths of 10 people and was sentenced to serve 17 years and 9 months in prison.  But was he guilty?  Was he able to foresee and understand the consequences of lighting the fire?  Did he truly understand the trial procedure?

Whilst being distressing reading at times, all in the group felt this was an excellent book and appreciated the balanced perspective it provided.  We also felt we learned a great deal; the processes of fire forensics and modelling fire behaviour; what life was/is like in the Latrobe valley; court proceedings; and aspects of mental health.  This book is probably the one that has provided the most consistent scores from the group; they ranged from 7-10, with an average of 8.8.

Carol, Book Club Coordinator

The Glorious Heresies is by Lisa McInerney, an Irish writer who won two awards for the book in 2016, the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Desmond Elliott Prize.

Overall, we gave this book a rating of 6.0, but there was wide variation within this (2 to 8!). Some of us loved it, others found it a very challenging read, with some of us not even able to finish reading it. Known as the Sweary Lady in her capacity as the author of her blog, Arse End of Ireland, which has won three awards as the best blog, McInerney lives up to her name and her characters swear liberally and continually throughout the book. She is also keen to highlight the legacy of Southern Ireland’s 20th century attitudes to sex and family, and the domination of the Catholic church in Southern Ireland. She depicts the squalor of life in Cork, in ‘a world that is wonderfully savage, grotesque, grubby and desperate’ with strong themes about parenthood, particularly motherhood and the shaming of women, shame, regret, guilt (and its absence!), redemption and damnation. All of these aspects made this book a tough read.  

Conversely, this book deals honestly with some very confronting issues – murder, drug dealing and taking, unwanted pregnancies, paedophilia, rape, abuse in many forms, double standards, poverty and squalor. We agreed that it had the ring of truth, and was depicting a situation that is authentic and real for many Irish people. While the characters are all well-developed yet flawed, and we can see them as ‘bad people’, generally we feel despair for them rather than dislike of them. McInerney very cleverly works on our feelings about the various characters, so that we see them trapped in their respective settings, and largely powerless to change their lot, or to even try. She loves language and there is a biting, dark and riotous humour throughout the book, juxtaposed with terrible happenings; ‘her linguistic wizardry and naughtiness keeps us hooked [and she uses] resonant, precise, antic and darkly beautiful prose’.

We concluded that McInerney’s intended audience is Irish, as evidenced by the high level of Irish slang, which was a challenge for us to understand at times, and that her aim in writing the book was to highlight the squalor and poverty in a post Global Financial Crisis Southern Ireland. The Glorious Heresies can be borrowed from the library and has a sequel, The Blood Miracles.

Robyn F., Discussion Leader

This extremely interesting book titled Australia Day and authored by Stan Grant provided much food for thought and indeed some robust discussion at the April meeting of our Book club.  Opinions were quite polarised, with some members finding it a stimulating, significant and thoroughly enjoyable read, while others found it difficult, challenging and plain hard work!

The book intertwines Stan Grant’s own story with that of Australia, including some very personal and poignant incidents from the lives of his own relatives and ancestors. He also uses many quotations, references and ideas from various noted historians, philosophers and academics which provide an excellent range of opinions and positions regarding his central question:  Who are we? 

“What unbalances me is being Australian...coming to terms not with being black or white, Indigenous or Non-Indigenous, but with the stranger in ourselves…it was overseas that I realised just how Australian I was...”

The book is clearly divided into sections according to the five things that go to Grant’s identity:  Home, Family, Race, History, Nation.  It includes scripts from some of the author’s  speeches delivered at specific events, which focus on the themes of Australia Day/Recognition/Treaty/Reconciliation, and his Declaration of Country –“my song of this country...this is what lasts”.

For me this is indeed, as the back cover indicates,  “a sad, wise, beautiful, reflective and troubled book”.  As Stan Grant states in his introduction, we need to “put aside the things that divide us.  I do not have to be a prisoner of my past or a captive of my race…I can be a ..citizen of everywhere.”

The author’s Declaration of Country states with clarity the attitude that we as Australians ~ one and many ~ need to take:

"We are all equal in dignity.  Opportunity is for all….

From the first footsteps to the most recent arrival, this land is our home,

Here, together, we form a new people bound not by chains of history but committed to a future forged together. "

Cate,  Book Club Member

This poignant and beautifully written story is set mainly in France, towards the end of World War One.  Harry Lambert is a lonely, naïve Australian young man who lives with his mother and works as a baker in a small country town in rural Victoria. Following the eager race to join the fighting ranks of so many other young men, Harry rather reluctantly signs up to support the Home Country’s war effort. He finds himself posted to France and continues baking bread behind the Front lines.  When his group is called up to The Front to fight at Amiens, Harry makes a life-changing decision and deserts. The idea of actually killing others or being killed himself is so abhorrent, “he must run”. And he does – finding a safe haven with Colombe – a non-English speaking older French woman living alone, estranged from her husband whose only son has been killed in the War. Harry and Colombe develop a quite complex yet loving relationship, ultimately depending on each other for their very lives.

Woven throughout the book, a different perspective of Harry’s life is provided. 50 years into the future Julie Lambert is planning a 1968 family reunion and has great difficulty finding information about Uncle Harry – “the one we lost”.  Several chapters are presented as letters written to or from Julie as she unsuccessfully tries to confirm Harry’s story. Did he desert?  Was he married? Did he have a French lover? Why didn’t he return home to Australia? Various family members and the Central Army records provide some, often contradictory, details but very few facts are gleaned.

Harry and others see him as a weak, priggish, cowardly pacifist and this view is important in the development of the story as Harry endures and overcomes considerable hardship before the War is won and peace declared.  By this time in the story, Harry has changed.  He is “determined to rebuild himself… he must be saved and made new”; the reader sees a clear growth and strengthening in his character. Right up to the final pages, when Harry “tries to imagine a comfortable future”, it must be with Colombe.  She remains his inspiration and his life-line:  “You are my survival.”

As well as the 2 main protagonists, an array of minor characters are included in this tale. Charalambous skillfully fills out the story with details from their difficult and challenging lives - Isabelle Bravy (Colombe’s neighbour and co-worker), Bunter (Harry’s army mate), childhood figures like school friend Christopher and cousin Maggie to name just a few –have a significant impact on the lives and experiences of the main characters.

The author effectively uses wonderfully descriptive language and employs various literary techniques like simile, imagery, personification and humour  to clearly portray not only his characters  ~ (after Harry is initially accepted into the safety of Colombe’s home, he follows her up the stairs to the bedrooms, ”her behind burbles and bugles” and Harry is reminded of some renown “famous farters” !) ~ but also, the physical beauty of the French countryside.

While one or two Book Club members found An Accidental Soldier somewhat difficult and confronting, most enjoyed reading the story and thoroughly appreciated the remarkably precise, picturesque and skillfully expressed prose.  The scores ranged from 5 to 9.

Cate, Discussion Leader

The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall is a dystopian novel set in Australia in the near future, amidst a landscape ravaged by climate change, and under the auspices of a one-party political regime operating a reign of surveillance and terror.

The action starts with the central character, Mim, receiving a visit from ‘The Department’. They deliver the chilling news that Mim’s husband has gone missing from the Golden Arc mine, where he works. This triggers a frantic and courageous race across land and sea as Mim tries to find out what has happened to her husband and save her two young children from the euphemistically named ‘BestLife’, a correctional facility where Mim’s brother has already lost his life.

It’s a thought-provoking novel which generated some lively debate among the group. We all chose three words we would use to describe Mim, and from the host of suggestions, a common thread appeared to be her bravery, selfishness and manipulativeness. While we might have had a grudging respect for what she set out to achieve, some questioned her approach and the danger she exposed others to.

Some found elements of the story a little implausible, while others thought there was too much detail perhaps on the boat journey and not enough was made of the potential story lines back home in Australia. Everyone agreed, however, on the quality of the writing.

Our debate concluded with some general reflections on the dangers facing us in modern life. The increase in surveillance was referenced, the potential for tracking through our mobile devices and the loss of freedom and agency we experienced during the pandemic. We live in interesting times.

The book scored 5.5 (range 2-7).

Lissa, Discussion Leader

“The Fell” by Sarah Moss (2021) is regarded, in some reviews, as a novella at 180 pages.  The story is very much an England-centric view of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Kate, one of the four main characters, unable to cope with the required 14-day quarantine period at home after exposure to COVID, breaks the law by taking a solitary walk up on “the fell”.  As she’s doing something illegal, she doesn’t tell her teenage son, Matt, where she is going, but she is seen by neighbour, Alice.  Kate falls and badly injures herself and a search-and-rescue operation, led by Rob, follows.  The story is, however, much more than this sequence of events, and raises probing questions about the relationships between family members, what the world has already become prior to COVID and what it will be like post-COVID.

With one exception, members found much to appreciate about the book, although another member felt the book needed to be read twice to get the most out of it.  The writing style meant the narrative wasn’t easy to follow.  It was written in the third person and much was a description of the lines of conscious thoughts by the characters.  Several of the group found this style to be very effective in revealing the personalities of the characters.  There was also a lack of punctuation which made the narrative feel rushed and confused, with non-stop streams of often contradictory thoughts. This style was, no doubt, deliberate on the author’s part, but many of the group found it frustrating to have to read sections repeatedly to get their meaning.

In line with the general feeling of the narrative being hurried, the story came to an end very abruptly with some characters left in limbo and no mention made at all of the others.  Again, it’s probable that the author intended readers to feel left “up in the air” to reflect the uncertainty of the future post-COVID. 

The book scored 6.2 (range 2-8.5).

Carol, Book Club coordinator