Category Archives: Paper

March 3, 2026 · 3:13 pm

Trials of Hope – Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes

Trials of Hope – Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes

This book won the Hungerford award in 2024.

Here’s the blurb …

In this profound, groundbreaking narrative, Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes weaves together stories of heritage and heartache. His unique memoir celebrates the beauty of Ethiopian culture while mourning its erosion – first under colonial forces, and later through internal conflict. Framing his work via the Ethiopian belief in the four elemental stages of human experience – water, fire, soil and wind – this is an essential exploration of the human condition, connecting readers to a nation of people whose sagacity and spirit have endured through generations.

This is beautifully written (and the poems in Amharic are visually beautiful as well). The sections of memoir are interspersed with poetry. This made me think about colonisation in a different way. Not so much a violent overthrow, but a more insidious erasure of culture – because, of course, everyone wants to be ‘modern’. Also, I didn’t know anything about Ethiopia, so I enjoyed learning about that as well (all I knew was the terrible famine in 1984). It is also about the immigrant experience, being caught between two worlds, and how would you feel when your new home expects you to be grateful?

An interview.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Australian, hungerford, Hungerford, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Paper, Poetry, trials of hope, yirga gelaw woldeyes

February 24, 2026 · 8:46 pm

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands – Sarah Brooks

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands – Sarah Brooks

A friend recommended this novel and I noticed that Miss P had a copy (I believe I bought it for her 🙂 )

Here’s the blurb …

It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.

It is the end of the 19th Century and the world is awash with marvels. But there is nothing so marvellous as the Wastelands: a terrain of terrible miracles that lies between Beijing and Moscow.

Nothing touches this abandoned wilderness except the Great Trans-Siberian Express: an impenetrable train built to carry cargo across continents, but which now transports anyone who dares to cross the shadowy Wastelands.

On to the platform steps a curious cast of characters: a grieving woman with a borrowed name, a famous child born on the train and a disgraced naturalist, all heading for the Great Exhibition in Moscow.

But the old rules are changing, and there are whispers that the train isn’t safe. As secrets and stories begin to unravel the passengers and crew must survive their journey through the Wastelands together, even as something uncontrollable seems to be breaking in . . .

I would describe this as historical fantasy – is that a thing? It is set in Europe/Asia on a train voyaging between Beijing and Moscow during the 1800s. The train travels through the ‘wastelands’. On a previous crossing something terrible happened – no one on that voyage can remember what happened. On this crossing everyone is nervous, the wasteland is evolving, but how and into what?

The world building is fabulous, the characters well described. The plot, like many a fantasy novel, could have been a bit tighter (a bit of editing?), but I suspect I am in the minority on that.

A review.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper

Tagged as , ,

February 12, 2026 · 1:46 pm

Time of the Child – Niall Williams

Time of the Child – Niall Williams

One of the lovely women in my stitching group lent this to me.

Here’s the blurb …

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come.

 His youngest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

 But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.

This is beautifully written – is Niall Williams a poet? I could feel the damp and the humidity, not to mention the small town lack of anonymity. The baby doesn’t arrive until about halfway through the novel. Prior to that we are observing the daily lives of these ordinary people, which is made extraordinary simply by the observation. The doctor goes a bit mad when he tries to concoct a plan to keep the baby – this is Ireland in 1962, no one is going to let an unmarried woman keep the baby. However, after getting the curate drunk, sending money for a ticket to a young man in New York, crashing the car, willing an old lady to die, and Ronnie running away only to return – they concoct a good plan. This all sounds very dramatic, but it is a quiet, introspective novel with a real sense of place and character.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper

Tagged as , ,

January 31, 2026 · 2:41 pm

Clear – Carys Davies

Clear – Carys Davies

I found this one at the library, but then when I was sorting my ‘tbr’ I found a copy! At least I didn’t buy another copy.

Here’s the blurb …

A stunning, exquisite novel from an award-winning writer about a minister dispatched to a remote island off of Scotland to “clear” the last remaining inhabitant, who has no intention of leaving—an unforgettable tale of resilience, change, and hope.

John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland—Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted.

Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds. The two men do not speak a common language, but as John builds a dictionary of Ivar’s world, they learn to communicate and, as Ivar sees himself for the first time in decades reflected through the eyes of another person, they build a fragile, unusual connection.

Unfolding in the 1840s in the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances—which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions—this singular, beautiful, deeply surprising novel explores the differences and connections between us, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can survive despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, sensitive and spellbinding, Clear is a profound and pleasurable read. 

This is a beautiful novel, the descriptions of the people (Ivar, John and Mary), the island, and their activities on the island are breath taking. It is a gentle story about human connection and isolation (and greed, but that’s just the catalyst to get the story going).

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 5, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper, Recommended, Romance

Tagged as , ,

January 15, 2026 · 11:44 am

The Tapestry of Time – Kate Heartfield

The Tapestry of Time – Kate Heartfield

I am intrigued by the Bayeux tapestry – I have even visited it (and it is a long way from Australia!), so clearly I had to read this one.

Here’s the blurb …

There’s a tradition in the Sharp family that some possess the Second Sight. But is it superstition, or true psychic power? 

Kit Sharp is in Paris, where she is involved in a love affair with the stunning Evelyn Larsen, and working as an archivist, having inherited her historian father’s fascination with the Bayeux Tapestry. He believes that parts of the tapestry were made before 1066, and that it was a tool for prediction, not a simple record of events. 

The Nazis are also obsessed with the tapestry: convinced that not only did it predict the Norman Conquest of England, but that it will aid them in their invasion of Britain. 

Ivy Sharp has joined the Special Operations Executive – the SOE – a secret unit set up to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. Having demonstrated that she has extraordinary powers of perception, she is dropped into Northern France on a special mission. 

With the war on a knife edge, the Sharp Sisters face certain death. Can their courage and extrasensory gifts prevent the enemy from using the tapestry to bring about a devastating victory against the Allied Forces?

This had an interesting premise – the Bayeux tapestry was created before 1066 by a group of women who could see the future.

I enjoyed the world war two setting and the very different lives of the four sisters. It was well-researched, but wore that research lightly.

It has fantasy elements – second sight, etc.

For me there wasn’t enough Bayeux tapestry, and a bit too much of Ivy training her second sight.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 3, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper

Tagged as , , ,

January 11, 2026 · 1:39 pm

The Rest of Our Lives – Ben Markovits

The Rest of Our Lives – Ben Markovits

I selected this because it was short listed for the Booker Prize. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was short, so I didn’t have to commit to too much.

Here’s the blurb …

What’s left when your kids grow up and leave home?

When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact.

He is also on the run from his own health issues, and the fact that he’s been put on leave at work after students complained about the politics of his law class – something he hasn’t yet told his wife.

So, after dropping Miriam off, he keeps driving, with the vague plan of visiting various people from his past – an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son – on route, maybe, to his father’s grave in California.

This is told from Tom’s perspective and I feel he is an unreliable narrator. His wife, Amy, (who admittedly did have an affair) is portrayed very unsympathetically. Also, Tom is clearly unwell. He wakes up every day with a puffy face and oozing eyes and tells everyone there is nothing wrong, but middle age, and yes he has had tests. And finally, there is white man fragility – good men aren’t getting jobs because of diversity hiring, etc.

Tom is on a road trip; to drop his daughter at College, and then he keeps driving. He visits his brother Eric, who seems to be another lost soul, his college mate (one of the sad white men), his college girlfriend (not sad) and finally his son in L.A.

All of the relationships are beautifully portrayed, and the descriptions of being on the road; the diners, the houses, the basketball courts are great.

It’s about middle age, family, regrets and missed opportunities. There is emotional heft to this novel, particularly the end (no spoilers).

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Digital, Fiction, Paper

Tagged as , ,

December 28, 2025 · 11:49 am

Murder in the Cathedral – Kerry Greenwood

Murder in the Cathedral – Kerry Greenwood

I have always liked the Phryne Fisher mysteries, but I haven’t read one in a long time and I certainly haven’t read them all. I received this one in the family ‘book flood’ and I read it in a couple of days.

Here’s the blurb …

When Phryne Fisher is invited to Bendigo to witness the investiture of her old friend Lionel, who is being made a Bishop, her expectations of the solemn and dignified ceremony do not include a murder.

Phryne quickly involves herself with perspicacious local Constable Watson and eagle-eyed Detective Inspector Mick Kelly as they identify the murder victim – an overzealous deacon with a nose for trouble. 

Applying her quick wits and magnetic charm, Phryne and her expanding team of sleuths discover murky layers of church politics, social scandals and business scams and blackmail. Soon, various suspects begin to populate a long list, each with excellent motives to kill.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking … Will Phryne be able to bring to light the proof she needs before the murderer strikes again or disappears completely?

I love all of the historical references; the clothes, cars, architecture …The crime was intriguing as well – a deacon murdered during a service (no one noticed anything) and the murderer has vanished (how did he/she get out of the cathedral?). The Deacon had something of serious import to tell the Bishop, is that why he was murdered?

This is a cozy crime – like from the golden age of crime.

This will be the last Phryne Fisher mystery as Kerry Greenwood sadly died earlier this year.

A review.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Australian, Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper

Tagged as ,

December 27, 2025 · 1:21 pm

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V.E. Schwab

Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V. E. Schwab

I am a fan of V. E. Schwab. I have listened to The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue and Gallant. So when I saw this on sale at Target, I had to have it. Of course, it then lingered on my shelves (although I think I purchased it this year).

Here’s the blurb …

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

I do enjoy the historical fiction aspects of this novel. I didn’t know at all what it was about and I was quite surprised when I discovered what ‘bury our bones in the midnight soil’ means. Although this is a fantasy novel, it’s really about people – relationships, family, chosen family, friendships and toxic relationships. It’s about women claiming space and agency for themselves.

It was long and I am not sure it needed to be that long. We could have had a few less incidents in Sabine’s life without losing any of the character or plot development.

A review.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paper, Romance

Tagged as , ,

December 18, 2025 · 6:27 pm

Jane Austen and Lord Byron – Christine Kenyon Jones

Jane Austen and Lord Byron – Christine Kenyon Jones

I bought this in London while browsing various book stores (we did a bit of a book tour of London).

Here’s the blurb …

Jane Austen and Lord Byron are often presented as opposites, but here they are together at last. In Regency England he was the first celebrity author while she was a parson’s daughter writing anonymously. This book explores how their lives, interests, work and sense of humour often brought them within touching distance, and sets them side by side in the world of the Regency and Romantic period.

Using some little-known sources and new research, it illustrates how they were distantly related by marriage; how they knew about each other even though they probably never met; the acquaintances they had in common and how their literary work often came close in subject-matter, approach, technique and tone.

Engagingly written and beautifully illustrated, this book will inform and delight scholars and Austen and Byron fans alike, showing that these two great authors were closer than you might think, even in their own day.

I am not convinced. Given the size of the population at the time and, in particular, the number of people in the gentry, there will be similarities and connections.

However, there were a lot of interesting points. For example, Byron and Austen were distantly related. They had the same publisher (John Murray) and shared some of the same concerns ‘a rogue, but a civil one’. They both enjoyed the theatre and possibly saw the same performances – or at least the same play.

And I enjoyed reading about Byron and Austen.

Here’s a review from Jane Austen’s House.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Biography, Paper

Tagged as , ,

December 17, 2025 · 5:12 pm

The Austen Affair – Madeline Bell

The Austen Affair – Madeline Bell (My copy is getting a bit worn)

I am not sure when I first heard of this one, but my daughter sent me a photo from Stefan’s Books, and, of course, I had to have it.

Here’s the blurb …

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

This novel was great fun, and I loved the time travelling aspects of it (and meeting Jane Austen). It was well-written and witty, but also with a bit of emotional heft. I do think it could have been a bit tighter – a bit more editing perhaps.

A review.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 3, Fantasy, Fiction, Paper, Romance

Tagged as , ,