The Road Home/Trespass by Rose Tremain

In a silent valley stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Its owner is Aramond Lunel, an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin.
Meanwhile, his sister, Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Set among the hills and gorges of the Cevennes, the dark and beautiful heartland of southern France, this is a thrilling novel about disputed territory, sibling love and devastating revenge.

Like so many others, Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. He is a tiny part of a vast diaspora that is changing British society at this very moment. But Lev is also a singular man with a vivid outsider's vision of the place many call home. In his innocence, his courage and his ingenuity, he is perhaps Rose Tremain's contemporary version of Candide.
In front of Lev, lies the deep strangeness of the British; their hostile streets, their clannish pubs, their obsession with celebrity, their lonely flats. London holds out the alluring possibilities of friendship, sex, money and a new career - but, more than this, of human understanding and a sense of belonging.

We followed a slightly different format last month with the reading of two books by the same author. Members could read both or just one, depending on availability and personal time and taste.
As it turned out, Tremain scored high with our group, with most of us lamenting her well developed characters, insight and believable study of relationships, and life as an immigrant. The strength of the female characters in both stories was mentioned and applauded. No surprise there! And Eleanor summed up beautifully by saying that the author had the ability to take an ordinary story and turn it into something brilliant.

There were some negative comments however, Anne thought the writing not strong enough for the emotional issues tackled, Tera was surprised at the lack of communication problems immigrant Lev had in a new country. This did not feel realistic to her. And Carol thoroughly enjoyed The Road Home, but found Trespass and its characters completely unlikable, finding it hard to believe they were written by the same author.

There was also comment on a slightly slow section in the middle of The Road Home, and Viti was challenged by the moral dilemma in Trespass - 'an innocent person paying for the wrongs of others'.

So, a new author has certainly been brought to our attention through these two titles, and a few of us are interested in reading more of Tremain's work. Opening our reading experience that little bit more.

And that's why we belong to a book club!

An aging writer makes notes in his diary: he has opinions about everything from Guantanamo Bay to the creative truth of dreams, from democracy in Australia to the meaning of dishonour.
His mesmeric voice, deeply concerned with contemporary politics, is challenged by Anya, the smart, irreverent young woman whom he hires to type his diary notes.
Meanwhile Alan, Anya's money-making boyfriend, scorns everything the writer believes in, and schemes against him.
With its three dynamic and charged voices, this may be the most original work of fiction to appear for years.

Nobody likes a challenge more than a book club, and this month's book provided just that! J.M. Coetzee managed to take the simple task of reading a novel to new heights with his Diary of a Bad Year. But rather than be put off by a series of narrative tricks, our group embraced this book as a remarkable, intelligent and thoroughly satisfying read.

It was noted by more than a few of us that Coetzee did a brilliant job of creating an entertaining, yet thought provoking novel in a format that cleverly worked as a vehicle for some of his own beliefs and observations.

As the narrative jumps from character to character within each page, the decision on how to read this book is the first step ... all but a few of us went with a page by page approach, although there were times when reading ahead was near on impossible not to do. Multiple bookmarks were then called for! Even with these restrictions, it was agreed that this book literally screams out for a second reading.

Looking for something a little different? This is it!

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

In this ironically titled and exuberant first novel by Miles Franklin, originally published in 1901, Sybylla tells the story of growing up passionate and rebellious in rural New South Wales, where the most girls could hope for was to marry or to teach.
Sybylla will do neither, but that doesn't stop her from falling in love, and it doesn't make the choices any easier.

Our first classic for the year found us, unsurprisingly, in an interesting discussion on the role of women in the 1800s. Sybylla, it was agreed, was cut from a different cloth than most young girls of the time, so created a wonderful character with which to base this very Australian story around.
Most of us had read this book at least once during our youth and some found it just as entertaining and enjoyable as the first time, while others saw the story through more mature and even slightly cynical eyes. The melodramatic style surrounding Sybylla and Harry Beecham's relationship found a few of us rolling our eyes, but most of us could see the maturity in the writing style from Franklin, considering she was but 16 when she penned this classic.

The description of the Australian bush and lifestyle was appreciated by all and Jeanette commented on the wonderful colloquial language that we hear so little of in today's Australian fiction.

Research into Miles Franklin herself was just as interesting as the book for some of us. She was quite an enigma in her later life and some of us wondered if she struggled with her sexuality in an era when women rarely admitted to such a thing.

Regardless of Franklin's age or preferences, My Brilliant Career has been held in high esteem internationally for many years, and we as a group are happy to include it on our list of very enjoyable reads.

February Book Something Wicked This Way Comes

It was just after midnight when the carnival train bringing Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show to Green Town, Illinois announced its arrival, the engine's whistle shrieking, the show's steam organ playing.

For two young friends, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway, the siren call of the carnival is irresistible. But these are no ordinary sideshows, no ordinary mazes and mirrors. In Ray Bradbury's incomparable masterpiece the Shadow Show has come to destroy every life it touches with its sinister mysteries.

We really went outside our square this month with our first ever fantasy title! Grant it Ray Bradbury is considered one of the masters, but it was still a stretch for some of us, and not all together an enjoyable experience.
As often happens with our group, we were divided in our praise and criticisms. Some found it disturbing, too negative, distasteful and simply unnerving. Although, interestingly enough, these same voices were quick to add that the writing was very good! Maybe a little too good one might think ... is this why they were so uncomfortable with the story?

The remaining views were of a more positive nature. The theme was intriguing, the writing style wonderfully imaginative, and a first line grabber that had even Anne reading on. Viti found the circus theme drew her in and brought back memories of the travelling shows of her youth. She also found much symbolism throughout the story which is to her liking (and ours, we can always depend on Viti for these references!).

Similarities to Stephen King's style was mentioned and many of us agreed that the popular fantasy author no doubt read Bradbury as a young, promising writer.

Some were inspired to read more Bradbury, in particular Fahrenheit 451 and to also do a little research on the author. It was remarked that his wonderfully imaginative works may be attributed to his lack of higher education and not having his creativity educated out of him.
Certainly food for thought. Maybe we need more writers with a freer style. Then again, maybe someone as unique as Bradbury would then fail to stand out.

Emmett Brown is as dark as Heathcliff, and as unpredictable. Sometimes he's an inspiration, but not often. Frequently he's a man of booze and obsessions and when the lottery numbers and horses fail him, so do love and reason and he becomes an ogre to his wife and children.
For the innocents - Louisa, Rob, Peter, Daniel and Jessie, the bonds formed hiding in hedges at the end of the street, waiting for the maelstroms to pass, are complex and unbreakable.
A powerful story of familial ties, where love - however imperfect - is the best defense against pain.

It is always interesting to see the emotion and passion a book can generate. It makes for a great meeting and wonderful discussion. So delivered the Deborah Forster novel The Book of Emmett with our group this month. We had a big turn out for this meeting, thirteen of us around the table, so there were plenty of opinions to get through. Generally this book was, for want of a better word, enjoyed, although most admitted to finding it disturbing and confronting. Domestic violence is not a pretty topic, ever, so the pain and abuse suffered within these pages was felt deeply by the majority of us. The atmosphere of dread and tension within the house was strong, written well enough to bring back memories of violence experienced by some of us in childhood. It was thought very Australian, relevant and believable. Tera commented that she had a love/hate relationship with this book; a human condition that ironically could be found throughout the story.

There were a few who were not impressed with Forster's writing. Anne and Carol felt it to be clearly journalism writing that ticked all the boxes needed for the 'complete' novel. There was no solid story foundation and they wanted more background on Emmett's history and why he became an abuser.

Regardless of the differing opinions, we still managed a wide ranging and rewarding discussion on many topics with an overall view that this was a worthwhile book addressing an all too real problem, both today and in the past. Looking for something that will pull at you heart-strings? This is it.

The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaver

It's 1946, and as Juliet Ashton sits at her desk in her Chelsea flat, she is stumped. A writer of witty newspaper columns during the war, she can't think of what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from one Dawsey Adams of Guernsey - by chance he's acquired a book Juliet once owned, and because of their mutual love of books, they begin a correspondence. Dawsey is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and it's not long before the rest of the members start writing to Juliet.

As letters fly back and forth, Juliet comes to know the extraordinary personalities of the Society and their lives under the German occupation of the island. Entranced by their stories, Juliet decides to visit the island - and unwittingly turns her life upside down.

A moving and gloriously honest tale of post-war friendship, love and books.

The Christmas break can be a challenging time to get a book read. There always seems to be so much more to concentrate on. Thankfully, last month's book was perfectly placed in our reading list to give us all a nice light read for the inevitable end of year mayhem. Shaver's delightful Potato Peel Pie Society was enjoyed by our whole group, on varying levels. There were those of us who found it completely charming and engaging - the perfect holiday read; loved the letter writing as a way of telling the story. We even discussed the probability of being able to use the postal service as a dependable way of communicating. We came to the conclusion that there was a time when the post was considered a most satisfactory form of keeping in touch. My, how times change!

But alas, there were a few of us who found the Guernsey tale just a little too tedious for their liking. They lost track of the many characters and did not find themselves getting involved in the plot (or lack of) at any point. Some also wanted more descriptive passages of the island and its way of life. Most of us knew little of Guernsey before reading this novel, so as a group we do feel that something has been learned and a few members have already carried through with a little more research on this intriguing part of the world. It was also suggested that 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff would be a good book to follow this up with, as it is written in the same 'letter' format, and in some opinions, a better read.

Everything aside, this captivating, light-hearted tale is a must read for those times when all you want is simply an enjoyable book.

Favourites for 2010

What a reading year we had in 2010! We enjoyed some fantastic books during the last year and after a vote by our members the top three titles were separated by only one or two points. The top honours went to Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. We loved his writing style and subtlety of this story.



Next came the classic The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. We love our classics and this one was popular with all of our group. It drew a few of us to read more of Maugham's books.

And number three, down the ladder by only a few points, was Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin. This contemporary novel challenged us in many ways. It is confronting and emotional to a point where our discussion became totally absorbing and raw, but certainly not to the point that we would shy away from it.

Lower down the scale foundered The Wanting by Richard Flanagan and Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra. Far from our favourites, these books helped to round off a great year of reading. We take pride in the variety of genres that we are willing to try and this year we will continue to challenge ourselves with a mix of classics and newer fiction. 2011 here we come!