Category Archives: Fiction

June 2, 2022 · 2:58 pm

A Civil Contract – Georgette Heyer

A Civil Contract – Georgette Heyer

I do like Georgette Heyer regency romance novels and when a friend told me A Civil Contract was her favourite – well I had to read it. I found it really hard to find a copy, in the end I found an eBook at Booktopia and I read it on my Ipad.

Here’s the blurb …

Adam Deveril is one of the Duke of Wellington’s captains, and a hero at Salamanca. When his father, a crony of Prince Regent, is killed in the hunting field, Adam becomes the 6th Viscount Lynton of Fontley Priory, Lincolnshire. But he returns from the Peninsular War to find his magnificent home in disrepair and his family on the brink of ruin, with the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. He is madly in love with the beautiful Julia Oversley but soon realises that the drastic measure of a marriage of convenience is the only answer. Enter Mr Jonathan Chawleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter, the quiet and decidedly plain Jenny Chawleigh. A marriage is arranged.

Adam chafes under Mr. Chawleigh’s generosity, and Julia’s jealous behavior upon hearing of the betrothal nearly brings them all into a scandal. But Adam didn’t reckon with the Jenny nobody knew, or the unknown quality that lay hidden behind her demure and plain facade, who bring him comfort and eventually more…

I do like a romance novel where the heroine is plain and unassuming. This is classic Heyer; well-researched, lots of cant terms. I was a little bit disappointed in the ending when Jenny realises that she is not going to inspire in Adam the same passion he felt for Julia.

Here are Jennifer Kloester’s thoughts on it (she wrote Georgette Heyer’s Regency World)

A Civil Contract – hidden depths Part 1

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May 30, 2022 · 2:43 pm

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

Miss A gave this to me for Mother’s Day. Her boss, she works at a book store, made everyone read the first chapter.

Here’s the blurb …

‘Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here’ ELIZABETH ZOTT
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Set in 1960s California; Lessons In Chemistry is the brilliant, idiosyncratic and uplifting story of a female scientist whose career is derailed by the idea that a woman’s place is in the home – something she most definitely does not believe – only to find herself the star of America’s best-loved TV cooking show.
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Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.

But it’s the 1960s, and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her male peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen on her road to professional fulfilment is a run-in with famous colleague Calvin Evans, legend and Nobel nominee. He’s also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry.

But life is never predictable and three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother and star of America’s best loved cooking show Supper at Six. Her singular approach to cooking – ‘take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride’ – and empowering message prove revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn’t just teaching housewives how to cook, but how to change their lives.

Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott 

This is my favourite novel of the year so far. It’s quirky, fun, sad and uplifting. It is the story of Elizabeth, Calvin, Mad and Harriet. It’s about human connection, bad men, good men and choosing your own destiny.

The Guardian review.

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May 29, 2022 · 10:49 am

Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead

Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead

I should record why I choose to buy books. I can’t remember the reason behind this one. I know it sat in my secondary ‘to be read’ pile for a while. Maybe a friend from book club?

I really enjoyed it – it was an enormous book, but I didn’t want it to end.

Here’s the blurb …

I was born to be a wanderer. I was shaped to the earth like a seabird to a wave

In 1920s Montana, wild-hearted Marian Graves spends her days roaming the rugged forests and mountains of her home. When she witnesses the roll, loop and dive of two barnstorming pilots, she is determined that one day, she too will take to the skies.

In 1940s London, after a series of reckless romances and a spell flying to aid the war effort, Marian embarks on a treacherous, epic flight in search of the freedom she has always craved. She is never seen again.

More than half a century later, Hadley Baxter, a troubled Hollywood starlet beset by scandal, is irresistibly drawn to play Marian Graves in her biopic, a role that will lead her to probe the deepest mysteries of the vanished pilot’s life.

GREAT CIRCLE is an enthralling drama of struggle and submission, of scale and intimacy, of lives lived on the edge. At once a love letter to our fragile planet and a story of bending the world to our will, Maggie Shipstead has delivered an epic of extraordinary depth and beauty that marks her as one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

The story is told from two time frames – Marion’s in the early 20th century and Hadley’s in contemporary times. Hadley is a troubled actress playing Marion in a bio-pic.

There must have been a lot of research involved in writing this (the flying, the war, boot legging), but it just creates a convincing world.

This book is for anyone who likes historical fiction or women’s fiction.

Review from the Guardian.

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May 3, 2022 · 8:29 pm

Mayflies – Andrew O’Hagen

Mayflies – Andrew O’Hagen

I bought this in Margaret River last year (so I have got to it in less than a year).

Here’s the blurb …

From the widely renowned author Andrew O’Hagan, a heartbreaking novel of an extraordinary lifelong friendship.

Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend who defines your life.

In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, James and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth: a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently. Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has news.

Mayflies is a memorial to youth’s euphorias and to everyday tragedy. A tender goodbye to an old union, it discovers the joy and the costs of love.

I loved the first part of this novel – the section set in 1986, I’m a child of the 80s afterall. The second part was also great, but much sadder and therefore less fun. Also, as someone who has had cancer, this was a bit close to home. That’s all personal though – the writing is fabulous. And it was lovely to read about lifelong male friendship.

You can listen to Andrew O’Hagen talking about the novel here.

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April 26, 2022 · 3:39 pm

Labyrinth – Amanda Lohrey

Labyrinth – Amanda Lohrey

I can’t remember how I came to have a copy of this one, but I finally got around to reading it. I loved the setting and Erica’s introspection.

Here’s the blurb …

Erica Marsden’s son, an artist, has been imprisoned for a monstrous act of revenge. Trapped in her grief, Erica retreats from Sydney to a sleepy hamlet on the south coast, near where Daniel is serving his sentence.

There, in a rundown shack by the ocean, she obsesses over building a labyrinth. To create it—to navigate the path through her quandary—Erica will need the help of strangers. And that will require her to trust, and to reckon with her past.

The Labyrinth is a story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children. It is also an examination of how art can be ruthlessly destructive, and restorative. Mesmerising yet disquieting, it shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers

This novel has a great sense of place. Erica’s story and her son’s are revealed slowly. In her shack by the sea (near to her son’s prison), Erica is trying to find a way to live and keep going despite the terrible thing her son did.

There is a great review at the Guardian

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April 22, 2022 · 1:37 pm

The Year I Met You – Cecelia Ahern

The Year Met You – Cecelia Ahern

I bought this novel from Kmart – it was in the $5 section. I expected a light, easy to read, romance, but it wasn’t that. There was a bit of romance, but it’s mostly about friendship and finding your way when things are tough. I found it compelling, I kept finding opportunities to read it. ‘Yes, you go snorkeling and I will sit on the beach and watch’.

Here’s the blurb …

A thoughtful, captivating and ultimately uplifting novel from this uniquely talented author

Jasmine know two things: one, she loves her vulnerable sister unconditionally, and will fight to the death to protect her from anyone who upsets her. Two, she’s only ever been good at one thing – her job helping business start-ups.

So when she’s sacked and put on gardening leave, Jasmine realises that she has nothing else to fill her life. Insomnia keeps her staring out of her bedroom window, and she finds herself watching the antics of her neighbour, shock jock Matt, with more than a casual eye. Matt is also taking a forced leave of absence from work, after one of his controversial chat shows went too far…

Jasmine has every reason to dislike Matt, and the feeling appears to be mutual. But not everything is as it seems, and soon Jasmine and Matt are forced to think again… 

As I said above, I enjoyed this novel. It was warm and witty.

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March 19, 2022 · 5:46 pm

Again, Rachel – Marian Keyes

Again, Rachel

I have always liked Marian Keyes – some more than others, and Rachel’s Holiday was a favourite. I was super keen to read this sequel.

Here’s the blurb …

In her twenties, Rachel Walsh was a mess.

Since her spell in rehab, though, she’s come a long way on the road to recovery – and now, she’s ready to go back to where it all began. But this time, the student has become the teacher. She used to hate the staff in charge of treating her addiction. Now, she’s one of them.

Rachel’s finally got herself on track – but life never stops being messy.

And when an old flame resurfaces, will she go back to who she once was? Or nearing fifty, can she find herself all over again?

It was great – thought provoking, but fun at the same time. And the Walsh family are hilarious as usual (but staunch).

A review

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March 9, 2022 · 7:14 pm

The Plague – Albert Camus

The Plague – Albert Camus

This is either a very weird or very appropriate choice of novel in the middle of a global pandemic. After two years things are just starting to kick of here (Western Australia – we leveraged our geographic isolation and have been (mostly) covid free).

Here’s the blurb …

A gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

I enjoyed it. The reaction now is very similar to the reaction 80 years ago (was it good research? or just insight?)

A review and another one.

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March 1, 2022 · 2:54 pm

A Wedding in Provence – Katie Fforde

A Wedding in Provence – Katie Fforde

I have read all of Katie Fforde’s novels. My favourite is still The Rose Revived, but they are all worth reading if you like romance novels.

Here’s the blurb …

Late summer, 1963

Fresh from London and a recent cookery course, Alexandra has always loved a challenge.

Which is why she now finds herself standing outside an imposing chateau in Provence.

Waiting for her inside is three silent, rather hostile children who are to be her charges for the next month.

They will soon be more friendly, she tells herself. All they need is some fun, good food and an English education.

Far more of a challenge though is their father – an impossibly good looking French count with whom she is rapidly falling in love . . 

It was light, fun and easy to read. There is always a lot of food prep in the novels (makes me hungry).

A review

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February 26, 2022 · 1:40 pm

Crossroads – Jonathan Franzen

Crossroads – Jonathan Franzen

I have always liked Franzen’s novels and I went to hear him speak once at a Writer’s Festival event.

Here’s the blurb …

Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads.

It’s December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the associate pastor of a liberal suburban church, is on the brink of breaking free of a marriage he finds joyless–unless his wife, Marion, who has her own secret life, beats him to it. Their eldest child, Clem, is coming home from college on fire with moral absolutism, having taken an action that will shatter his father. Clem’s sister, Becky, long the social queen of her high-school class, has sharply veered into the counterculture, while their brilliant younger brother Perry, who’s been selling drugs to seventh graders, has resolved to be a better person. Each of the Hildebrandts seeks a freedom that each of the others threatens to complicate.

Jonathan Franzen’s novels are celebrated for their unforgettably vivid characters and for their keen-eyed take on contemporary America. Now, in Crossroads, Franzen ventures back into the past and explores the history of two generations. With characteristic humor and complexity, and with even greater warmth, he conjures a world that resonates powerfully with our own.

A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, its action largely unfolding on a single winter day, Crossroads is the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis. Jonathan Franzen’s gift for melding the small picture and the big picture has never been more dazzlingly evident.

Once again it was a very long book, but I enjoyed it. I liked the switch in perspectives (although I intensely disliked Russ). I think Franzen writes like a woman, which I mean as a compliment and he might take as a criticism, his novels focus on families, and relationships and to my mind seem character rather than plot driven. I look forward to the next two.

Here’s a review from The Guardian

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