Hand Me Down World - Lloyd Jones

Hand Me Down World

Lloyd Jones

Text Publishing

I devoured this book, finishing it in three days. Hand Me Down World has been receiving plenty of publicity and much praise which is definitely justified.

Hand Me Down World is the story of Ines (not her real name), an illegal African refugee who is washed onto the shores of Italy on a seemingly impossible mission to find her son. With no language and little money we hear her story through the people whose lives momentarily intertwine with hers. Each story is presented as a new piece of a puzzle, fitting into the next to give a clearer picture of this unassuming yet determined woman.

We eventually get to hear Ines's story through her own perspective. And from her we are presented with new takes on the previous stories. Just like the question over her real name, it's never clear which recollection is the truth and which is altered to favour the opinion of the storyteller. One thing that is apparent however, is Ines's single minded determination to be reunited with her son.

Hand Me Down World is a touching and beautiful tribute to the extent of a mother's love for her child. Whilst highlighting the plight of the illegal immigrants and the sometimes ugly nature of man, Hand Me Down World is also a homage to random acts of human kindness, as time and again we encounter men and women who willing to go out of their way to help their fellow man. 4.5 stars.

The Novel In The Viola - Natasha Soloman

The Novel In The Viola

Natasha Soloman

When you have loved a book like Mr Blumenthal's List, had invested time praising its merits and had pressed it with assurance onto reluctant buyers hands, you can't then turn around and ignore the next book by that same author. Still, I wish I had since The Novel In The Viola met none of my expectations.

Elise, a Viennese girl from a family of famous Jewish artists, leaves her home and immigrates to England. The year is 1937 and Austria is under the spell of Hitler's antisemitism. Moving to a small sea-side town, she is hired as a maid at Tynford estate. Culture clashes, home sickness and worries for her family add to her unhappy introduction to her new life. The situation changes for the better when Kit, the son of her employer, arrives home from university and a budding romance ensues.

Elise's character starts out interestingly but any spark she possesses at the beginning seems to fizzle out by the second half of the book. Her friendship and love affair with Kit is too convenient and in my opinion, rather unrealistic. The supporting characters are colourful, with the exception of Mr Tynford, who reminded me of a limp handshake.

Despite her assured sense of storytelling, Solomon has produced a tempered tale. The Novel In The Viola is pleasant enough and has a few interesting moments but as a whole, failed to reach the heights of the author's debut novel. 2.5 Stars

Bronte's Story - Bronte Cullis

Bronte's Story

Bronte Cullis

Random

Bronte Cullis is a neurotic teenager. Despite coming from a loving, supportive family, she is anxious and obsessive. Her life is ruled by phobias and fears over protecting her family. Fragile and brittle, she's an easy target for bullies at school. Its not surprising that when her grandmother develops cancer and her only friend leaves the school, her neurosis and anxiety spill into self harm. For six long years Bronte listens to voices inside her head. And the voices tell her to stop eating.

Bronte's Story outlines the destructive power of anorexia and its hold on its victims. Scattered are entries from Bronte's journal that provide an insight into her dark inner thoughts. Whilst struggling through her illness, Bronte comes to the notice of Channel nine's 'A Current Affair'. She and her family are interviewed by Ray Martin and her progress becomes the focus of several follow up segments.

Bronte's Story should have remained a five-minute segment on television - or alternatively a 6-page women's Day article. The journal entries combined with a narrative repeating the same thought come off clunky. The publishers were clearly trying to fatten the word count by adding supporters' letters and the exhaustive journal entries. As fascinating Bronte's Story is to me, the narrative failed to hold my interest and I spent half the time skipping entries. 2 stars

Caleb's crossing - Geraldine Brooks

Caleb's Crossing

Geraldine Brooks

4th Estate

Too many books, too little time. So why should anyone stick to a single author? Why indeed, except of course if the author is innovative enough to re-invent themselves with every book. I've come across very few who do this: Margaret Atwood, Vikram Seth, Andrew McGahan and Geraldine Brooks. All brilliant. All original. All exciting. And in this culture of homogeneous, neatly bottled and presented genres, refreshingly brave enough to step outside the box.

From this illustrious pack, Brooks is by far my favourite. I love how she lets her imagination rest on the 'slender scaffolding' of history, transporting her readers to a forgotten past. Caleb's Crossing is no different. Set in 17th century Martha's Vineyard, it's inspired by the tale of the first Native American man to graduate from Harvard College in 1665.

The daughter of a Puritan Minister, Bethia is denied the education she craves. On a chance meeting with a Chieftain's son, she discovers in him a kindred spirit, equally curious and thirsty for knowledge. Teaching him to read, she introduces him to her Christian God. In return he teaches her the secrets of the island and his native language.

Despite the obstacles placed by her gender and circumstances, Bethia strives to learn and exercise her intellect whilst quietly observing and celebrating Caleb's achievements. Together they form a bond that's unshakable despite the growing tension between the island's natives and the colonists. As the clash of cultures unfolds resentment escalates, inevitably resulting in tragedy.

Caleb's Crossing depicts the harshness of pioneer life against the sad withering and disenfranchisement of an ancient culture. 4.5 stars

Past The Shallows - Favel Parrett

Past The Shallows

Favel Parrett

Hachette

At first glance, Parrett's writing appeared simplistic and better suited to YA. But as I settled into the rhythm and flow of the narrative, I discovered a deceptively simple, stripped back prose that carried a heavy punch, which once delivered, left me breathless.

Set in the wild and beautiful south east coast of Tasmania, Past the Shallows is a story of family secrets and the intimate spaces of the human heart. It's the story of love, loss and the bond between brothers. Harry and Miles live with their father, an abalone fisherman. Their older brother Joe moved out after the tragic death of their mother, leaving the two younger brothers to bear the brunt of their father's anger and self-loading. Things are made harder by the drop in abalone numbers due to over fishing. To make money, their father takes bigger risks, fishing illegally in the protected areas.

A marvelous achievement by the first-time novelist, Past the Shallows reminds me of my last year's favourite, The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster. Masterful and heartbreakingly beautiful, the quiet prose seeps in the hearts and minds of readers and continue to resonate long after the last page is read. 4 stars

Under This Unbroken Sky - Shandi Mitchell

Under This Unbroken Sky

Shandi Mitchell

Weidenfeld & Nicolson

In the spring of 1938, Theo Mykolayenko returns home after a year in prison for the crime of stealing grain to feed his family. Having escaped Stalin's Ukraine, Theo refuses to be beaten. Unable to purchase land under his own name, he comes to an arrangement with his sister to buy a quarter land in her name with the understanding that he will pay her back once the grain is sold. Theo takes to the land with unbending resolve, clearing, ploughing and harvesting grain. As the first shoots sprout and the crops grow, the family slowly heals and strengthens.

Abandoned by her abusive husband, Theo's sister Anna and her children rely on her brother and his family to help them survive their harsh surroundings. But not all is well with Anna. She is broken and unhinged and when her husband returns with an unforgivable plan to rob Theo of everything he has built, she agrees to go along with it.

When the clash comes between the two families, it is as harsh as the landscape itself. The dramatic conclusion and its tragic ending leaves the heart resonating with compassion. I wanted so much to reach into the story and put things right. To reverse time. To help them heal.

Absorbing and beautifully written, Under This Unbroken Sky is storytelling at its most powerful.

4 stars

The Logic Of Life- Tim Harford

The Logic Of Life

Tim Harford

Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany? And why oh why are there no eligible men left in the city?

The poorer cousin to its predecessor Freakanomics, The Logic Of Life opens promisingly but falls away when the author runs out of things to say and resorts to laborious passages that eventually overstay their welcome. A possible logic behind ladening his book with uninteresting fillers could be that in order to justify the advance he wanted from his publisher, Harford had to fatten his word count. 3 stars