Courageous authors + taboo themes = brave choices

Ominous dark clouds and lightning were swirling around Maylands as we gathered at Kathy's place for our meeting on Frenchies Day, 14 July.  Given the books, we all knew we were in for difficult, disquieting discussions and thought perhaps Barb, McLassie and Cherilyn played a strategic hand in being apologies - (OK, I may have taken some publisher's license there - we know you were all ridgey-didge).

Our first book was Megan's choice, Infinite Splendours, by Sophie Laguna.  If ever a book belied its title, this must be it, but its over to Megan for her summary

Author Sophie Laguna - studied to be a lawyer at Uni of NSW but decided law was not for her & moved to Melbourne to study acting.  Whilst working as an actor she completed a Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.   She is now an author and playwright for both adults and children.  She has written many books for young people and has been nominated for a number of awards including Qld Premier’s Awards - has been published in US, UK and in translation through Europe & Asia.
Her first book for adults was released in 2008 - “One foot wrong” which was long listed for the Miles Franklin.
I didn’t know much about this book other than a couple of friends in other book clubs had read it - I think the title “Infinite Splendours” makes you think of lovely long lasting wonders which are obviously always there.  This is the case with the colourful landscape & nature of the Grampians where this book is based and depicted in the artwork produced by Lawrence.

It is a very tough book to read and at times I felt I may not finish it.  The story begins in the 1950’s with a mother and her two sons (Lawrence & Paul) living on a property in the beautiful surrounds of the Grampians. The father didn’t return from the war and the mother, whilst doing her best to give her sons a happy life, is constantly thinking about her brother who she was separated from when they were children. They are a happy and close threesome until the day that Uncle unexpectedly arrives.  Mother is absolutely delighted and takes great care in preparing the house for his visit.

We soon start to feel uncomfortable with this “too good to be true” relative - the younger brother Paul and the elderly neighbour have misgivings but Laurie is quite taken with him and is delighted when he shows an interest in his art. There is a building of tension interspersed with the every day life and happy times of the family.  We just know that a terrible fate awaits Laurie at the hands of his uncle.  Once the rape occurs you feel utterly dismayed and just want him to speak up, but of course, predators like this tell you it’s “our secret” and make the child feel as if it’s their fault.

I hoped that Paul would say something but he is the younger brother and didn’t really know exactly what was happening and wouldn’t know how to approach the subject.  Possibly Laurie thought that saying nothing would save his brother from being abused too.  Mother was oblivious to Laurie’s changed demeanour and just wanted her brother to remain a part of her life!  Laurie goes from a talented & popular student to one who can’t communicate, develops a debilitating stammer and his life is totally ruined (particularly as he cannot confide in anyone).

After dropping out of school Laurie takes on a job at the dairy where his mother has worked for many years.  He is a loner, cannot relate to his workmates and is quite isolated.  As he has grown in to adulthood he has not made sense of what has happened years earlier.  He cannot change the past, but the question is whether he is doomed to repeat it!

He befriends the young son of the boss and after a few lunchtimes together is suspected by his workmates of grooming the boy and is badly beaten and doesn’t return to the dairy.  Just more heartache for the reader to contend with!!

Now he’s home all the time - mentally deteriorating. His art and regular climbs up Wallis his only outlets.  The narrative is lightened by the lush description of landscape and the inclusion of art as a form of therapy, hope, salvation and redemption.

In the last third of the book Laurie is a much older man still living in the same house, but on his own.  He and brother Paul are no longer close - he both loves and hates him.  Laurie’s health has deteriorated, exacerbated by his isolation and Paul attempts to care for him as best he can.  He is totally mortified when a new family move in next door but eventually becomes friends with the 10 year old son David - the reader again becomes worried as to whether this will be a healthy friendship.

The ending is very sad although Laurie does save David from the fire and it is rather bitter/sweet that his agent comes looking for him to see if he has survived the fire and discovers all the amazing art work he would never be recognised for.

Laurie’s inability to talk about what had happened to him was what ultimately destroyed him.  This is the impact for many abused children who cannot speak of the unspeakable which continues to haunt them throughout their lives.

Our group discussions turned on the experiences of survivors and being believed, along with some critical reflections on the  narrative.  This included the failure of adults to act (in particular and sadly the 2 key females, mom and the teacher).   Hope and redemption were difficult to find in this book and so with furrowed brows, we moved on to Kathy's selection, The Ripping Tree, by Nikki Gemmell. 

And now its Kathy's turn

Nikki Gemmell is the best-selling author of thirteen novels and four works of non-fiction.  She was born in Wollongong, New South Wales and attended Rose Bay’s Roman Catholic Kincoppal Primary and Secondary School, on a scholarship.  She graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Masters in Writing and worked as a radio journalist for ABC Radio and the BBC World Service.  For many years, she lived in London but has now settled back in Australia.  Her best-known work is the 2003 novel The Bride Stripped Bare, an explicit exploration of female sexuality (which I’ve not read).  In fact, The Ripping Tree is my first exposure to Nicki Gemmell.  She is the author of fourteen works of fiction and seven non-fiction books. Her books have been translated into 22 languages.  When I mentioned my choice to Megan, she commented that Andrew had bought the book for her because she so enjoys Gemmell’s weekly columns for The Australian. And, she also writes novels for children. 

The Ripping Tree is an historical thriller, a tale of survival in colonial Australia. It took Gemmell ten years to write, apparently because motherhood got in the way.  The author has revealed that the title, The Ripping Tree, is what her son called this type of tree when her family returned to Australia to live.  For the main character and the voice in this book, The Ripping Tree was magic because its bark could be used for a million things.

That character, Thomasina Trelora, loses her father and only surviving parent when she is 16 years old and living in England.  Her elder half-brother has made a life in Australia, so he returns to ‘take responsibility’ for his orphaned sister, announcing that he has arranged for her to marry a vicar in the fairly newly settled island continent.  Having been raised by her father, it becomes clear that she is highly untypical of that era’s ‘young lady’.  When she is orphaned, it becomes quickly obvious that she and her brother are not in any way close, and that he and his wife are disgusted by her lack of feminine training. They are constantly critical of Tom’s behaviour on the long journey to Australia, and Tom, devastated about having to leave her homeland and being made to marry a complete stranger, can only think of a way to escape the claustrophobic world that, as far as her brother is concerned, is rescuing her.

 

Just as they are nearing their destination, a fierce storm dashes the boat into the rocks leaving Thomasina as the only survivor.  Her rescuer leaves her, wrapped in bark from the ripping tree, on the doorstep of “Willowbrae”.

 

Unlike a review by Frank O’Shea in the Canberra Times in April this year, in my first reading of the book, I was mainly interested in the tale and finding out what was going to happen to this young girl.  O’Shea was distracted and says he was ‘…so bogged down in the elegant prose that the story is in danger of being ignored.’  His second reading allowed him to truly absorb the storyline.  In my second reading, I was reminded that the story was being told by Thomasina, now a grandmother, to her daughter and her daughter’s children who had just visited Willowbrae.  They thought it was a wonderful place and were keen to spend more time there, so Tom decided to read them her own handwritten tale about the property.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style in my first read, but in the second reading, I became much more conscious of the beautiful and descriptive prose Gemmell used throughout the story.  An example, in relation to Thomasina’s rescue, when she was barely conscious, Gemmell wrote:

 

“Spit on fingertips – rubbed my eyes into cleanness, into sight, and I blinked wide with relief”

 

“….A palm before me was something – what – to hold, look at, eat – yes, eat.  Pale, unappetizing, globulous.  I didn’t recognise, was afraid. 

 

“…This hand on my back kept rubbing and rubbing and the food came at me again and it wouldn’t scrape past the dryness in my throat, and I gagged.  I retched the food out.

 

“….Then lips.  At mine.  Oh, the goodness.  What?  This….softness.  This tenderness.  I arced in some kind of instinct to meet the flesh that was saving me in a great transference of warmth and connection and trust;  but no, it was practicality, merely that.  Masticated food was being passed to me, lip to lip, and I flushed and swallowed without tasting, then like a horse, ate greedily from a palm held flat.  The hand that had been rubbing my back and propping me up and cleaning my eyes with spit wasn’t white – but black.

 

Thomasina’s first feeling is that she has truly been saved from the fate her brother had wanted to create for her, and that she would finally be able take control of her own life.  She wakes to see a young boy staring at her who is the youngest son of the family living in the homestead where she has been left.  “Mouse”, as he is called by the family, is extremely lonely and desperate for someone’s love.  He believes Tom may be a mermaid and nicknames her “Poss”.  He begins to share some of his secret adventures with her as she recovers from her ordeal, and Tom begins to realise there are many layers to Willowbrae, and finds that she wants to peel away at those layers, much like the bark on the Ripping Tree.  She wants to expose the core of truth and honesty with this highly unusual family.

 

The story covers only 7 days, and each day with the family makes her want to ask more and more questions – questions that are not welcomed by the family members.  She becomes justifiably fearful that she might be in danger and doesn’t know who to trust.  She is certainly not confident in giving away her true identity, lest that knowledge leads to her being married off to the vicar to whom she had been promised by her half-brother.

 

The vicar turns out to be one of the town visitors who come asking questions, wanting to know her true identity.  He is not an attractive man and appears to have no confidence in himself when he is with her.  She has no way of knowing, but wonders if this might be the vicar to whom she has been promised.  On his second and third visit to Willowbrae, when they are able to get to know each other a bit better, Tom and the Vicar find a common respect and care for each other.  She also discovers he is the vicar intended for her by her brother.

 

Tom is closely guarded by the maternal figure in the household who fears Poss might be taken away if she is able to recall her true identity.  “Mouse’s” mother has offered “Poss” the opportunity to stay at Willowbrae, to be a governess to her young son, as well as to provide her with a much needed female companion.

 

Poss comes to learn that the mother is a completely frazzled woman, with no patience for much at all, especially the wild country she has been forced to make her home.  It soon becomes clear that the mother is trying to replace the daughter she lost and adored some years before.  She describes it as very fortuitous that Poss should be the only survivor of the shipwreck, with no memory of who she is or to whom she may belong, and to have been left, like a miracle, on the Willowbrae door stoop.

 

In one of Mouse’s adventure outings, they discover a dead Aboriginal woman and child.  Much to Mouse’s distress, Poss becomes obsessed with convincing the family to remove the dead bodies and give them a proper burial.  And it is from this point on in the story that the truth is uncovered about this family’s beliefs and horrible treatment of Aboriginals.

 

Poss makes such a nuisance of herself that the family are able to persuade a doctor that she is suffering from hysteria, a fashionable ailment of the day, so that she can be sent to a primitive asylum from which she may never escape.

 

The story is an uncomfortable reminder of early Australian history, and I was left wanting to know more.  Tom obviously escaped her confinement and went on to have a family and grandchildren.  Did she marry the vicar?  Were the family ever exposed for their treatment and behaviour of the natives?  Will Gemmell consider a second book?

We agreed the exposure of aboriginal experiences when white people arrived needs to be told, distressing as they are - but there was uncertainty in the group as to whether this was the strong book it could have been.  Some of us found the writing difficult at times, and some of the main characters were drawn a bit too 'loosely' - which perhaps had the effect of losing the impact of the narrative.   The storyline took place over 7 days and though we all know miracles can occur on this timeline (?), it created some credibility gaps as well. 

Yes, the weather indeed foreshadowed our gut wrenching books - but then, putting aside our individual views its incontestable that the themes of both books deserve to be out in the open and talked about.  A wise woman once said 'Whenever I see a taboo, I just think that's something we need to drag screaming out into the light and discuss. Because taboos are where our fears live, and taboos are the things that keep us tiny.'  So perhaps without knowing it, we all grew a little bit on Frenchies night, and we can thank the authors and selectors for that.

After collective sighs of relief, Kathy came to the rescue with fabulous oranges and lemon cake, decorated with amazing edible flowers, and we all assumed she was auditioning for the next edition of 'MasterChef'.  Kathy kindly offered to share the recipe - but not until after the next finals series (not really - just let her know! and I'm putting up my hand Kathy).  Over tea and cake, the mood was lightened with jokes from Mog and the specially invited French guest all the way from the room next door, Pierre. 

 

The hand goes for the Oranges & Lemon cake

Our next meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday 15 September 2021, assuming our host (McLassie) agrees to the change.   Book selections are:

McLassie: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, by Claire Wright

Marg P: The three burials of Lotty Keen, by Krissy Keen

Stay warm, stay reading and stay safe everyone.

Wyld and Wonderful

 

All members of the group were at Cherrie’s city pad for the May meeting – and that included one new but rather swollen bloody knee that Megan brought along with her, and a puzzling pressure problem that accompanied McLassie.  So of course we all swung in with our (not so) well informed medical opinions and suggestions on knees, necks, ears, etc before we embarked on our evenings’ journey into the written word.

Cherrie’s book was first, and here is her erudite and unedited background information (thanks Cherrie):

Evie Wyld b. 16/6/1980.

This is a difficult book to read, both for its construction and content. The violence herein brought me visceral dread.

To help tease out the stories, on the second reading I read Section I right through, then Section II, etc. Wyld abandons any linear foundation in her construction of the novel. I tried to give background to the setting on the Firth of Forth, the features of North Berwick and the lowering Bass Rock, representing dark male dominance in a feminine sea, (thanks to Mog, for that). (Note from blogger - nice little evasion of the more direct phallus symbol!)

Wyld’s Grandfather’s 1st wife died of TB, leaving two small traumatised little boys. Within a short time he had married a tall, intelligent woman, (who was never in a position to use that intelligence), who was not a motherly sort of person to the two boys. Evie remembered a grey-haired alcoholic. whom she found hard and scary. When her grandmother and father died in quick succession, she inherited a photo album and there was Bass Rock with her father pictured with it, just as she herself had been pictured on summer holidays in the big house.

The house itself is almost another character. Huge, lonely, ghosts. Evie, her husband and infant son had to leave their last flat because all three perceived a presence in that house which did not feel comfortable. Whereas Evie/Viv’s generation has used cutting to express anger, Ruth systematically broke wedding presents and other objects, parts of the setting within this place which Ruth finds hostile.

Talking about the processes of writing the novel, Wyld originally had another 30+ voices, including the three in this book, and these three “stuck”. She started with Ruth. Then came Sarah, accused of being a witch. A ploy at that time to deal with “different” women, clever women, outspoken women. In Nth Berwick there is St Andrews Old Kirk, where women were accused of being witches - they were executed in Edinburgh. With the witch -hunt in the story of Sarah, came a change to a faster paced flight thru the forest. The story is told by a young man who is just assuming a manly role; the language here is set in that time.

Viv is based on herself. 40-ish, no outward signs of having made it- no money, no stellar job, no man. Viv can be quite self-lacerating, but the possibility of a relationship with Vince opened up humour and some lightness.

Evie Wyld’s 1st two novels circled the theme of men’s violence. The 1st wrote about 2 men unable to realise the expectations of men, the 2nd is about a woman who is dealing with her brutalisation by men. In this 3rd book, some think that it depicts all men as bad, but there are the Uncles, Christopher and Michael, who themselves have suffered dreadfully at boarding school, where the patriarchal institution has wreaked havoc, particularly for Viv’s father, Michael. Evie’s own father and uncles were sent to BS @ 8, where they suffered corporal punishment, and her uncles were damaged by that. The train scene where Viv’s uncle Christopher was tempted to kill an abuser really happened to one of her uncles. He regretted not doing it.  In the UK, the murder of Sarah Everard by a policeman has unlocked a huge anxiety in women. Evie spoke about Sherele Moody’s Femicide Map of Australia on which every red heart represents a murdered child or woman....and if possible a little is written about each victim. Viv’s friend Maggie talks about imagining every single abused female being visible together. Wyld also spoke about the treatment of women in psychiatric institutions.

Wyld spoke about using Jim Crace’s idea of minimal research and giving the reader just enough to fill in the gaps for themselves.

The novel is character driven without long descriptive passages. Wyld says her writing is becoming more sparse. She has no plot or plan when she starts.  Rather she accrues ideas, characters etc around a starting point, goes off in many directions with different stories, then starts to string the novel together. When the novel is coming together well she has it read by her husband, a literary agent, her agent and then her editor.

Her next book will be more simple.  

Q: How does she have such a strong affinity w Australia?

A: Nostalgia. Never lived in Australia for more than a year at a time...childhood memories are so vivid. She thinks she could never write a novel about London. Hard to get her brain within it.   

_____________________________________________________________________

What a great start – especially the revelation on how to read the book.  So simples! Yet we all read it page by page, and agreed it was a struggle to keep track of plots, timelines, characters. (Hmm - thinking and pondering - is there a link between the recent big shift in the construction of novels and the availability of digital books?)

The general consensus was that it was a troubling encounter and took us on a difficult journey.  We went into many dark corners and it was only for some of us that the light shone through it.  We split between those who thought it a very unfair exercise in demonising males; those who thought it vividly portrayed male control, coercion and violence against females; and there were some on the fence.   Alcohol, drugs and depression played around the edges of many of the characters, hinting at the impact on the frailer characters in the book (cause or effect?).  A few of us took to Vivienne, others not so much; all liked Ruth; and most were puzzled by Sarah and Maggie.  Of the males, as Cherrie mentioned, the step sons Michael and particularly Christopher came through as non-monsters, along with John, but otherwise it was a troubling ride into testosterone, violence and control.   

No scores were offered but given the extent of robust discussion about the book, this blog(ger) will record it as a win but not a triumph.  

 

So our slightly shattered group then moved on to Moggie’s selection, Lowitja – the biography of Lowitja O’Donoghue by Stuart Rintoul.  Moggie explained it was an authorised biography which she selected after hearing the author speak at Writers Week this year.  It was written in a very moving and personal way and painted a portrait of a remarkable Australian First Nations woman.  As a member of the ‘stolen generation’, when at 2 years of age she was taken to Colebrook Home from her family home in Indulkana SA, her efforts to reunite with her mother after 30 years evoked great sadness – yet it clearly made her a stronger woman.   This journey was partly to counter media criticism (by the dreaded A Bolt  - I won’t spell him out!) who alleged she wasn’t Aboriginal – but it probably served to make a wise person even wiser and more determined. 

 It was galling for the medically trained in our group to read of her efforts to become a nurse not so many decades ago (mid 1950’s) – and this again spoke of her determination (shame on you, RAH!).  The list of her achievements goes on, and on – Australian of the Year, CBE, addressed the United Nations General Assembly, Honorary Doctorate of Law (ANU and Notre Dame University), Honorary Doctorate from Flinders University, ANU, Uni of SA, and Queensland Uni of Technology (yes, I cheated here from the website of the Lowitja Institute -  https://www.lowitja.org.au/page/about-us/patron).

 One of her great achievements was working through the Native Title legislation (after Mabo) when she was the founding chairperson of ATSIC  in the early 1990’s – with key politicians including Paul Keating, Bob Hawke and Don Dunstan all recognising her significant contribution to getting such landmark legislation over the line.  That alone, is a great legacy – though sadly the next Prime Minister offered very little follow on (as evidenced by his  long standing refusal on the 'sorry' word).  Fortunately for us all, Lowitja had a lot left to give and spent the next decades focusing on improving health outcomes for Aboriginal communities.  We all agreed - What a woman!! 

Our evening ended with Mog’s moist, delicious carrot cake, coffee, tea and natter (with 2 or 3 natters going on at the same time).  As we departed, meeting dates were raised and consensus reached on the second Wednesday of each (alternate) month – so the next meeting is 7 pm on Wednesday 14 July at Kathy’s place (46 Frederick Street, Maylands).  Hot off the press is the book selections:

Megan -Infinite Splendours by Sofia Laguna

Kathy – The Ripping Tree by Nikki Gemmell

 And we will anxiously wait to see who bakes (because according to this observer, that natter was unresolved - but maybe it was on the journey home).

 

Finally, for anyone interested at this link you will find interviews with Evie Wyld and Nikki Gemmell about their respective books.  https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-book-show/episodes/

 

Yesterday: Today: Tomorrow: ever it was cold

What a day it was - Wednesday 3 March 2021.  We arrived at Cherilyn's place on the day a choking Federal Attorney General attempted to justify himself as being a victim of the media (and others) on the recently publicised rape allegation - so from the getgo the conversation at our meeting was alive with outrage, comment and disbelief.   After we had all had our say, (some more than others - including on reflection your correspondent!), Cherilyn called us in to line, noting the apologies from Kathy who was having a medically induced sleepover, and Cherrie who has been recalled to volunteering temporarily (are these famous last words from Cherrie?).

After the events of Today, we started with Cherilyn's selection which was the book about Tomorrow - The Last Migration.  (Before we go any further, apologies to Cherilyn - I've forgotten the 3 reasons you gave on why you chose your book and would like to include the reasons - please post a comment or let me know). 

Cherilyn must have done hours of research and presented us with some fascinating insights into the writing of the book, and the thoughts of its author, Charlotte McConaghy - including

• about writing Franny: her drive came from instinct; she was wild yet wanted connection; brave yet uncertain
  
• why follow the arctic terns; they fly to the moon and back 3 times in their lifespan -WOW!
  
• extinction and leaving: how much of the worlds wildlife has gone??  there is more about leaving and the 'why Franny had to leave' than there was about the where she going to
  
• bleakness yet hope: bleakness yes, but some of us weren't so convinced about the hope bit
  

We all charged into the storyline of the book, reconstructing it along the way as most of us read it some months ago.  Set at a time in the (not so distant) future when animals in the wild were all but gone we were gripped by the narrative, and were in awe of the life of the little arctic terns.  We also wondered about the life of Franny not so much from awe as from shock at the choices she was making - from her trauma, to her constant leaving, and to her relationships.  PTSD seemed a guilty party here.  Niall was one of the positive cornerstones of her life, and there appeared to be an attempt by Charlotte to make Ennis another, but this didn't quite work (for a few of us at least).

Possible flaws of the book were talked about, including unbelievable sections - including when Franny dove in to the ocean toward the last stage of the voyage to drag water back to the boat, and surviving the immersion in cold water (to rescue Ennis earlier).   The ending was problematic for some too - where after epic adventures to get to Antarctica for another kind of extinction, we were asked to suspend our investment in the book and believe in a fairytale ending.   Not everyone took this view about the ending though, its fair to say, as the hopeful ending was a preference too.  The structure of the book was also raised, with the constant changing timeline of Franny's life frustrating the narrative line - perhaps it was a device to unsettle the reader, just as Franny was unsettled - who knows? - perhaps it time to go to creative writing classes!

But the strengths of the book outweighed these problems, particularly its 'raison d'etre', and everyone really enjoyed the book.  It took us on a journey into speculative fiction, the potential future if nothing changes, the effects of PTSD, and the lifecycle of an amazing little bird.  Excellent choice Cherilyn!

Then it was on to Yesterday - The Tolstoy Estate - Barb's choice for the group read.   It was chosen after being read for another book club and Barb thought it a worthy contender for the FandB Club.  And it was! 13 years since he wrote his award winning first novel,' The Zookeeper's War', Steven Conte came out with this his second novel.  It unapologeticly reverberated from cover to cover with Tolstoy's classic, War and Peace.  Barb talked about the way the author deliberately slowed the book down in the second half by using letters between Paul and Katerina that were tediously slow to reach the other.  And how Conte was keen to do this because 'War and Peace' was deliberately written in this way by Tolsoy - but then as Barb said, his book is over 1300 pages long!  (And Barb knows because it was a prize awarded to her in her youth.).

Barb also gave us the goss on why it took Conte so long to write his second book (failed novel; broken marriage; caring for an autistic son), and went on to talk about the setting in Yasnaya Polyana (not quite Pollyanna), Tolsoy's estate in Russia, during the second world war (recent image below).  

We all felt that the bitter cold graphically seeped through the book during the war years.  And the interplay between Napoleon (1812) and Hitler's (1941) failed attempts to win a Russian campaign was always present in the book, reinforced at every opportunity by the fabulous character of Katerina.   Barb overviewed the German characters (pronouncing their names heroically) and we all scowled at the mentally unstable Metz, felt for the softie, Seb, disliked Drexel and the very unlikeable Molineaux.  Paul and Katerina were the standouts - for their intellect, their strength, and their humanity.  The unrequited romance between them created some discussion; one view was that it was essential to the novel, and another was it was a device to get the reader in - hmm where is that creative writing class??

There was a lot to like in this book - from lyrical passages that through Katerina's eyes sought to explain Tolsoy's written word about the human condition, to the precise detail about surgical operations in war conditions before the time of penicillin, and the final chapters when mortality finally met fate.

Another excellent choice.   Well done Barb and Cherilyn.

Banana cake (with unsweetened pineapple) baked by Cherilyn's own hand was delicious eating for our post book review chat, when we avoided all further conversation about our cold Attorney General, and decided that

• the next meeting is on Wednesday 12 May (not 5 May as scheduled); Mog and Cherrie to decide venue
  
• Cherrie's book is 'The Bass Rock', by Evie Wyld
• Mog's book is 'In search of the woman who sailed the world', by Danielle Clode
• the last meeting is on Friday 5 November, for lunch at Sue's place in Hindmarsh Valley
  

Mog opened an interesting discussion by offering to lend Lowitja O'Donoghue's biography (by Stuart Rintoul) saying it shed light on the history of aboriginal communities in South Australia - and Margie P talked about the recently released book 'Elizabeth and Elizabeth' (Sue Williams) set in early colonial NSW which covered some similar ground.  (And as I sit here writing while looking out the window at the fabulous countryside and view I have, I'm still puzzled that John Howard can say one generation isn't responsible for the actions of earlier generations - when I'm clearly enjoying the benefit of those earlier actions, as, I assume, is he.  Hmmm!  Sorry to start this blog and finish it on a righteous note.)  Oh no - and then this came in and I'm freezing cold again ...https://www.themonthly.com.au/today/rachel-withers/2021/04/2021/1614833230/if-he-did-it?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Monthly%20Today%20-%20Thursday%204%20March%202021&utm_content=The%20Monthly%20Today%20-%20Thursday%204%20March%202021+CID_c9c3dc4a7204dc795318b6dce13d2958&utm_source=EDM&utm_term=Read%20on

That's definitely a wrap from me until 12 May - enjoy your books and very happy to post any comments, including contrary ones.  

Choices

Here they are:  First choices for 2021 

Cherilyn: The Last Migration - Charlotte McConoghy.....'Oh.  Out flies my soul, sucked through my pores".  (page 9).  Wow!!  I'm into this book already.

Barb: The Tolstoy Estate - Steven Conte

Want to listen to Pip Williams talk about her book The Dictionary of Lost Words - along with a few others?  Go to 

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-book-show/celeste-ng-pip-williams-chris-flynn/12813040 

I really like Christmas

 2021 HERE WE COME - all books to be selected (venue at first names unless advised otherwise)

Wednesday 3 March 2021:  Cherilyn and Barb

Wednesday 5 May 2021:  Cherry and Moggie

Wednesday 7 July 2021:  Kathy and Megan

Wednesday 1 September 2021:  McLassie and Marg

Friday 5 November 2021:  Sue and Julie