Women in Black by Madeleine St John

The Women in Black is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But it's Sydney in the 1950s, and there's still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and scheme ...

By the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies' Cocktail section at F.G. Goode's have been launched into slightly different careers. With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St John conjures a vanished summer of innocence.



The level of enthusiasm for Women in Black turned out to be understandable when we discovered how much personal knowledge of 1950s Sydney, and in particular David Jones, there was amongst our group. Most found this book a nostalgic trip into a past world where things seemed less complicated and there was much more goodwill around. The whole group felt St John captured the era perfectly and her focus on the characters rather than the plot helped to make it the enjoyable read it was.


There were plenty of laughs around the table as memories of fashion shopping and joining the work force were discussed and although we agreed the past is more often than not looked back on through rose-coloured glasses, it was still fun to relive this innocent time through the security of, dare I say it, mature wisdom!

All this praise is not to say there were no negatives. Joan felt the whole story was some what superficial and that the writing style lacked creativity. There were also a few who did not really consider this a 'novel' but more a nostalgic commentary.

Either way, it was an enjoyable read for our group after the heavier content of our last book, and the agreed 3 stars is a good indication that we found it worthwhile.

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The Balkans, 1941. As German bombs fall, a tiger escapes from his zoo and heads to a ridge above the village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in terrified thrall. But for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic – Shere Khan awoken from the pages of Jungle Book.

Natalia is the granddaughter of that boy. Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages after another war has devastated the Balkans, when she hears of her beloved grandfather’s death.

From fragments of stories told to her as a child, Natalia realises her grandfather may have died searching for the immortal ‘deathless man’. Struggling to understand why a man of science would undertake such a quest, she stumbles upon a clue that will lead her to the extraordinary story of the tiger’s wife.

The Tiger's Wife filled a two month slot for our book club as it was considered a challenging read and it worked well for us not to rush this one. As quite often happens with this style of literature, our scores swung widely from 3 to 8 stars. There will always be someone who finds something where others find nothing. A good motto for a book club!

To break it down ... most enjoyed the writing, language and description, but many also agreed that there were too many words and the continuity was a bit awkward at times. Everyone found the significance in the contrast between medicine and supersition which was very powerful in the cultural identity of the people. A strong theme and important to the overall impact of this book.

The characters did not appeal and they were hardly discussed, but the history thread kept us interested even though the protagonists became lost in the lives of the people and bogged down in their superstition.

As a group we do enjoy a challenge and this young writer's style and effort was appreciated by us.