Tuesday 30 January 2018

Gods and Little Fishes - a boy and a beach by Bruce Ansley

I loved this book - it really resonated with my memories of a carefree outdoor childhood filled with the right balance of security, discovery and mystery. Bruce Ansley has captured the essence of a post Second World War, pre-Information Age upbringing. Safety wasn't as all-encompassing as it is today, and children's learning wasn't as circumscribed, with some inevitable casualties (and lots of near misses). It was interesting to see the dynamics of friendships and family relationships change over the 40 years described, some things only making sense years after they happened.

The environment of 1950's New Brighton isn't romanticised at all - the grey waves, the cold easterly, mutton and vegetables for dinner - and lends authenticity. Bruce's family was typical of the community in that it was large and finances were tight, but they still managed social activities like camping trips away, and belonging to the Scouts. Possibly there are times when he hasn't let facts get in the way of a good story but it is done in a entertaining way.

From the title I had expectations of a Beach Boys style surfing story, and I was glad to find something of a far more local flavour.
Posted by JMR

Catalogue link: Gods and Little Fishes

Friday 26 January 2018

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Something of a Cinderella tale, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of a young woman emerging from the shadows of heartbreak and loneliness.

The story is told through Eleanor's eyes, and in spite of her cantankerous and pernickety narrative voice, she somehow manages to charm the reader - although everyone at her work thinks she’s a bit mental.

Eleanor is socially naïve – there are some very funny scenes, many to do with her plan to charm the lead singer in a local rock band, whom she secretly admires from afar. When she helps Raymond from IT save the life of an old man who has collapsed in the street, new doors open for Eleanor, but is she ready to step through?

Raymond is everything Eleanor is not. He’s a bit scruffy, smokes, is a little overweight but at the same time is unfailingly kind and understands the subtleties of social interaction. And Raymond’s mother, an elderly woman who lives alone with her cats, loves him to bits. The unlikely friendship between Raymond and Eleanor pushes the plot along as Eleanor finds herself interacting more with others and this leads to new opportunities. In the background, Eleanor’s terrible childhood at the hands of the worst mother imaginable is slowly revealed.

Would I have liked Eleanor so much if she hadn’t such a good excuse for being so difficult? I don’t know, but you can’t help but admire her stoicism, even if this means she’s had to suppress the feelings that reveal her kinder side.

Gail Honeyman has created a wonderful character who draws you into her world from the first page. The balance of humour with glimpses of Eleanor’s horrendous childhood keeps you reading, while the contrast between Eleanor’s crisp diction and the Glaswegian dialect of those around her adds plenty of colour. Shortlisted for a Costa First Novel Award, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is an impressive debut which delivers on many levels.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Monday 22 January 2018

Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2) by Richelle Mead

“In Midnight Jewel, Richelle Mead goes beyond the glitz and glamour of the Glittering Court, delving into the dark, political underbelly of Cape Triumph through the eyes of one girl who dares to fight for her freedom. A refugee of war, Mira was cast out of her home country and thrust into another, where the conditions were inhospitable at best. In a life-altering twist of fate, she is given the chance to escape once more, and she takes it, joining the Glittering Court.” - Publisher's blurb

Last year I read the first book in this series, The Glittering Court . It was one of my favourite books of the year, set in a (slightly) fantasy world that seems to mirror England in the 17th Century as they colonise America. The Glittering Court is a ladies training school - taking poorer English girls, and teaching them to be poised, sophisticated women that can be married off to the highest bidders in the colonies. Adelaide was an Osfridian countess who posed as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But (surprise, surprise) things did not go according to plan, and Adelaide had to fight for her life, and her freedom.

Midnight Jewel takes place over the same period of time, told from the point of view of Mira, a refugee who just wants to come to the New World to find her brother and start a new life. She becomes one of Adelaide’s closest friends, but the two girls keep secrets from each other, and both must travel their own paths to find love and happiness.

While I loved The Glittering Court, I preferred Mira’s story. She is resourceful, complicated and prepared to do whatever it takes to find her brother. It was an exciting read, and even though you kind of knew how it was going to end because of the first book, getting there was just as exciting.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Midnight Jewel

Thursday 18 January 2018

Oxygen by William Trubridge

I now knew that freediving was my passion and my path. I relished the idea of dedicating myself to it, of giving over every aspect of myself in the quest to redefine human aquatic limits.

Be warned – reading this memoir will make you unconsciously hold your breath as you imagine diving to depths of 100-plus metres on a single breath of air.

William Trubridge is a multi world-record holding freediver and he is the current world champion – his deepest dive to date is a staggering 102 metres without the aid of flippers.

The reader gets the feeling this man should have been born with gills; such is his affinity with the ocean. William literally grew up on the ocean; leaving his birthplace of England with his parents and brother when he was a baby, and sailing around the world for most of his childhood before the family settled in Hawke’s Bay.

Trubridge seems to have just the right temperament for an elite sportsperson; single-minded, passionate, dedicated and driven to improving his performance. William practices yoga and has used yogic breathing techniques to his advantage whilst free diving. His relationship with the underwater world seems almost spiritual at times.

Free divers can experience alarming (certainly to me – one can only sympathise with his poor mother!) side-effects from lack of oxygen. Called ‘The Samba’ within the sport, divers sometimes experience involuntary shaking and jerking upon reaching the surface of the water. Briefly losing consciousness when surfacing is sometimes another ill-effect; although ‘safety divers’ are present. Trubridge describes the tragic death of a fellow diver who did not regain consciousness and the effects on himself and the free diving community.

I would highly recommend anyone reading Oxygen look up YouTube videos (including a piece by the American 60 Minutes television programme) of some of William’s dives. Although he describes his dives in the book in great detail, the video footage is amazing and gives you a real appreciation of the skill and dangers involved in this sport.

Oxygen is an in-depth and interesting memoir about an elite sportsperson and his life.

Posted by Katrina

Catalogue link: Oxygen







Monday 15 January 2018

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

“3:47 a.m. That's when they come for Wren Clemens. She's hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who've gone so far off the rails, their parents don't know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp." - Publisher's blurb

The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can't put up a tent. And bitter won't start a fire. Wren's going to have to admit she needs help if she's going to survive.”

Wren’s home life is pretty stable. She has two parents who want the best for her (even if they have trouble showing that most of the time), an older sister (that tries her best to ignore her, the way older siblings have been known to), and a younger brother (that Wren absolutely adores). You would think that Wren would be relatively well-balanced and grateful for her lot in life. But she’s not. And it frustrates me to no end.

Smoking (both cigarettes and weed) from a young age, drinking, shoplifting – Wren is lost, and heading down a dangerous road. Tired and out of options, her parents sign her up for a brutal, tough-love survival camp to get her to sober up and put her life back on track. But can Wren survive the harsh desert? And more importantly, can she survive being left alone with her thoughts? Wren is forced to take long hikes, learn how to make fires without matches, help dig latrines, and (gasp) live without her cell phone. And she does it all very reluctantly. Kicking and screaming and swearing the whole way.

I found it hard to like Wren at first. She is vindictive, selfish and predictable – a perfect stereotype of a white middle class rebellious teen. Thankfully though it is not because of bad writing, but as a place for her character to grow from. Over the course of her eight weeks at camp she learns a lot. Not just wilderness skills, but about herself. Her insecurities and regrets, her strengths and weaknesses. The girl who leaves camp is definitely not the one who was blindfolded and dragged there at a horrible hour of the morning, still recovering from the night before. Through beautiful and insightful writing Wendelin Van Draanen introduces us to a trainwreck, and shows us how she pulls her life back together.

Posted by Sas

Thursday 11 January 2018

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

The first mystery novel featuring detective Aaron Falk, The Dry, took the world by storm, winning for author Jane Harper a CWA Golden Dagger Award. Soon after, she’s back with the second in the series, Force of Nature. This time it’s a missing person’s case set in a mountainous bush area in Victoria, during winter, wet and cold – so unlike the hot, relentless drought of The Dry.

Falk and fellow financial crime investigator, Carmen Cooper, are following a case of money laundering and have their sights set on corporate whistle blower, Alice Russell, to help them close the case. The only trouble is Alice has gone missing during an adventure retreat with her colleagues and bosses, an exercise in team-building. Four women of the group return battered, cold and hungry, without Alice and with no idea of her whereabouts.

The story see-saws from Falk and Carmen’s investigation and the slow turn of events from the women’s point of view as what started out as a challenging few days of working together, soon turned to disaster. The four women all have difficult relationships with Alice. Her boss, Jill, is an easy suspect, part of the family business and connected to the corruption. Lauren has known Alice since school yet they are oddly distant. Twins Bree and Beth have an uneasy relationship, Bree a career girl, while Beth shows signs of addiction and has a prison record.

The difficult terrain also holds secrets, once the stamping ground of serial murderer, Martin Kovak. Could a copycat killer be at large?

Jane Harper works the edgy interactions of the five women to create plenty of tension - each is desperate in her own way and with a well-developed backstory. She’s also great on setting: the claustrophobia of dense bush, the lurking fauna that can so easily sting or bite. Meanwhile Falk is still hampered emotionally by his past, particularly his guilt over his father, which adds interest and offers more development in future books.

Overall, there is perhaps not quite the edge-of-seat drama of The Dry in Falk’s second outing, but Force of Nature is still a good solid whodunit that won’t disappoint.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: Force of Nature

Thursday 4 January 2018

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

“One stormy summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hair clips and jewellery, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something bigger; something she won’t talk about.” - Publisher's blurb.

I know that they say not to judge a book by its cover, but honestly, that’s how I pick half the books that end up on my ‘to be read’ pile. Knowing nothing about this book other than the fact that it had an intriguing title and a beautiful cover I grabbed it from the new books shelf and had to read it.

I’m glad I did because it is a beautifully written, diverse story about the difficulties of being a teenage girl, loss and heartbreak, all set in a well-developed world of magical realism.

Two different groups of teenagers find the spell book, and use it to try and bring back what they lost; a bracelet, a diary, a mother, virginity unwillingly given. But in order to find what is lost, they have to be prepared to lose something even more precious.

Moïra’s writing is very lyrical and easy to read. I got wrapped up in the magic and lost track of the world around me. Clues left through the story helped me to slowly piece it together, and while I did guess the ending, it wasn’t until towards the end that I finally got it.

A great read for those who love magic, mystery and YA.

Posted by Sas