Review: Abominations by Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver is a somewhat controversial author here in Australia, although I found myself agreeing with most of her opinions in Abominations - Selected Essays from a Career of Courting Self-Destruction by Lionel Shriver.

Some readers might remember when Shriver made Australian headlines after giving the keynote speech at the 2016 Brisbane Writer's Festival. Her speech was about cultural appropriation and in Abominations we hear the speech in full, together with the subsequent fall out, attempt at cancellation and finally her response to it all.

For the record, I agree with her. Political correctness and the woke brigade have definitely gone too far if wearing a sombrero at a party is considered cultural appropriation and therefore offensive. If authors can only write from their own lived experience in order to avoid being accused of cultural appropriation, then their work will be dull and limited. I want authors to have the creative freedom to write about a priest living in the time of the black plague or a courtier dancing in the court of Elizabeth I and this automatically extends to creating characters with different nationalities and ethnicities; ages; sexual preferences and identities; socioeconomic backgrounds; levels of education; backgrounds and personalities than themselves. (For more, I shared my thoughts on 'own voices' in my review of Honeybee by Craig Silvey in 2020).

Shriver is open about the many attempts that have been made to cancel her and while she admirably shrugs them off, she does highlight the impact a 'successful' cancellation has on authors, publishers, actors and other creatives and the often devastating and unintended consequences that follow. Shriver gives examples of well known celebrity cancellations and I agreed with most of her opinions on the topic.

Abominations contains more than 40 essays of varying length and covers a broad range of topics, including: tennis, politics (Brexit and the troubles), IKEA furniture, economics (wages and taxes), health care, ageing parents and the pro-death movement. I found her essay on the nature of friendship break-ups particularly interesting.

In her instantly relatable essay entitled Quote Unquote published in the The Wall Street Journal in 2008, Shriver breaks down her pet peeve of quoteless dialogue:

"While the use of quotes to distinguish speech is still standard in English language fiction, undemarcated dialogue has steadily achieved the status of an established style. In fact, this is one of those stealthy trends that no-one confronts directly." Chapter 33

Shriver explains that it's harder to read fiction without punctuation marks for dialogue and making the reader work harder isn't in the author's best interests. She goes on to address each of the arguments in favour of undemarcated dialogue - love that phrase! - including improved aesthetics on the page and a perceived edginess. Shriver asks editors, agents, critics and established authors for their opinion and discovered the majority found dialogue without speech marks annoying. I was nodding the entire time and occasionally thinking to myself, YES! 

Listening to the author read her essays added to the overall experience and I'm giving Abominations by Lionel Shriver an extra star just for the sheer quality of the writing, vocabulary and turn of phrase. Whether you agree with her views or not, there's no arguing she's one hell of a writer!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids was a delightful reading experience as 84 children from around the world tell us about their family, where they live, their hobbies and more. Each child enjoys a double page spread, and the eye-catching layouts include photos, flags, maps, fast facts and three adjectives they use to describe themselves.

Cleverly organised alphabetically by first name provides a stimulating criss-crossing of the globe instead of a dull trip alphabetically country by country. This also prevents readers from flipping pages to search for specific countries, although there is a handy index in the back.

Some of the entries are clearly written by the children while some have been helped by their parents, but all were informative, interesting and engaging. I loved learning new things along the way, for instance Noa (aged 10) lives in Japan and she says:

"I like this house because our living room is huge. There is a fireplace and horigotatsu (table-based heater) as well." Page 129

I didn't know what a horigotatsu was so put the book aside to find out and went down a lovely Japanese rabbit hole. They look super cosy and I really hope I get the chance to try one some day.

I was able to identify some similarities between the entries in that a lot of children fight with their siblings (who knew?), many have never seen snow and rabbits are a favourite animal for kids around the world.

According to the Foreward:

"To create this book, we reached out to cattle ranchers in the Australian outback, inhabitants of a fishing capital in Greenland, city dwellers living among skyscrapers in Nigeria and many more families!"

Sounds great but I'd really like to know exactly how they did that. How many children submitted a response and how were these 84 profiles chosen? Some of the children stated their parents were teachers and I found myself wondering if Lonely Planet reached out to schools as part of this project. Not that it's important, I'm just curious.

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids is a great book suitable for readers young and old and I can highly recommend it.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye is the story of two children almost a century apart locked in the same attic of a grand English home and treated abominably by the adults charged with their care.

The dual narrative begins in 1903 with Dikembe's life as a young nine-year-old boy living with his family in the Congo. The youngest in the family, his parents protect him from the dangerous political climate but his life takes a dramatic turn when he is convinced to accompany a white explorer back to England as his companion. Dikembe is re-named Celestine and his journey and subsequent adjustment to life in white society is deeply disturbing and heart wrenching.

Dikembe is a very likeable and inspirational character and my heart ached for his losses, sometimes to the point of not wanting to return to his story. After the demise of his sponsor, young Celestine is received poorly by distant relatives, treated like a servant and locked in the attic for days on end.

We join Lowra in 1993, and as a child she was locked in the same attic by her wicked stepmother after her father vanished on their honeymoon. Now an adult and orphan, she inherits the house and returns to the centre of her childhood trauma, the attic. In researching the history of the house, Lowra comes across a photograph of Celestine and enlists the help of an historian to trace his story.

The Attic Child was heavy reading and we're not spared Celestine's suffering in the first person nor the trauma suffered by Lowra presented in first person flashbacks. I found myself wishing the author had shielded us from at least one character's confinement or perhaps dialled down the sheer distress and horror of their combined abuse.

Lowra's research uncovers dreadful colonialism and racism in England in the late 1800s and early 1900s and a deplorable chapter of atrocities in the Congo where I later learned ten to fifteen million African people were slaughtered between 1885 and 1908. The historian becomes a key character and we learn his own history and ongoing experience of racism. Together their research takes them closer to Celestine and I kept reading to find out where it would all lead.

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye shines a light into some very dark places and if I'd known just how heavy and helpless it was going to make me feel, I don't know that I'd have chosen to read it. Knowing the story was inspired by historical fact made it harder to read, and I'm ashamed to say I guess I prefer a more sanitised version of historical fiction that doesn't give me an aversion to picking up the book due to the sorrow it contains.

The ending was satisfying even though it felt a little far fetched and Jaye includes an excellent Author's Note at the end expounding on the inspiration for the book. For more, you can read an article by the author from 2022 here.

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye is recommended for fans of historical fiction who can handle the darker side of history and child abuse page after page and still maintain hope.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I received a copy of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald as a mystery book at a GoodReads Melbourne catch up and it's been sitting on my TBR pile since 2018. The reason it's been collecting dust is because it's a romance story with a bookish theme and I don't really enjoy the romance genre. The reason it hasn't been 'moved on' to a friend or free little library is down to the fact that this is also a book about books. Needing a light and easy read recently, I finally picked it up and was pleasantly surprised to finish it.

Sara Lindqvist lives in Sweden and has a penpal by the name of Amy who lives in a small town called Broken Wheel in Iowa. Invited to visit and stay a few months to continue their shared love of books and reading, Sara takes the plunge only to discover upon arrival that Amy has passed away.

Translated from Swedish, what happens next forms the body of this charming story and the letters back and forth between Sara and Amy are scattered throughout the novel. The inevitable romance made itself known early on, together with several other - predictable - romantic entanglements. Sara's internal chatter (what could he possibly see in me?) grated on my nerves as I'd expect, but thankfully it was somewhat tempered by the setting up of a bookshop and re-energising of the town. The inhabitants of the small country town are stuck in their ways and some are entertainingly cliched.

Published in 2013, my favourite character by far was George and I enjoyed the character of Caroline even more so than Sara. Here Caroline reflects:

"She had never been able to help people like Amy could. Amy always seemed to know precisely what people wanted to hear. Caroline knew only what they should hear, and the two were very rarely the same thing." Page 24

Sara is seeking a sense of belonging and exploring what constitutes a family and readers will need to suspend their disbelief at the ending but I'm sure many will readily do so. Obviously life doesn't work like that but this is a tale offering escapism and a HEA; reinforcing the reason this genre rarely features in my reading line-up.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald is about finding a sense of belonging and will appeal to bookworms who enjoy novels about books and bookshops with a generous dollop of romance.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Theft by Finding Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris

Books by David Sedaris have been a somewhat regular feature here on Carpe Librum since 2021, and this offering marks my 7th review of his work. I have tickets to see David Sedaris live when he comes to Melbourne next year and thought I'd tackle the first volume of his diaries after they were recommended by an author whose recommendations I trust.

Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris covers a huge chunk of his life, although Sedaris is clear at the outset that the diary entries selected for this collection are a mere drop in the ocean.

"It's worth mentioning that this is my edit. Of the roughly 8 million words handwritten or typed into my diary since September 5 1977, I'm including only a small fraction. An entirely different book from the same source material could make me appear nothing but evil, selfish, generous or even - dare I say - sensitive. On any given day I am all these things and more: stupid, cheerful, misanthropic, cruel, narrow minded, open, petty, the list goes on and on. A different edit, no doubt a more precise one would have involved handing my diary over to someone else, but that is something I cannot imagine doing, unless perhaps, that person is a journalist. They never get beyond the third page, which they usually call the middle, as in 'I'd hoped to finish this before our interview but am only in the middle'." Chapter 1

Beginning in 1977, the diary entries provide a wonderful snapshot of life at the time, reflecting the attitudes and social norms of those around him. Sedaris is a master of observation and conversation with people and he shares multiple snapshots into lives that merely intersected his for moments, days or weeks.

Living in poor neighbourhoods and taking odd jobs to pay the rent, Sedaris seemed to be surrounded by a lot of domestic conflict often leading to outright domestic violence. The author also shares multiple accounts of bullying and harassment while walking on the street, riding his bike and generally out in public, most of which he tries not to engage with.

The rise of AIDS is barely touched on although Sedaris often mentions he's mistaken for a woman on the phone and is called a fag by strangers when he won't give them cigarettes or money etc. There's no inner reflection or deep interrogation of his thoughts and feelings on these topics and I'm not sure whether he chose not to record them at the time or merely decided not to include them in this collection. Sedaris does mention he regrets not recording word-for-word conversations with family members in his diary as some of them have since died and he'd like to re-read them.

I've mentioned Sedaris' drug taking in the past and I really didn't enjoy the amount of air time given to his recreational drug use. He doesn't share any real reason for his drug taking or discuss any mental struggle related to the activity, perhaps preferring to keep it private. He does mention giving up alcohol and staying sober, but it's not a big focus and there wasn't any of the expected deep inner reflection.

Meeting his partner Hugh in 1990 was a highlight and I enjoyed tracking his early involvement in stage plays and the joy at his rising success via reviews and interviews, and later his early books. But again, my favourite sections were the entries written when he was taking a course to learn French. His sense of humour and love of word play definitely shone through, and I admired his effort to embrace the language. One favourite entry involved Hugh cutting his finger with a knife, and Sedaris racing down to the store not knowing the word for bandaid, and saying:

"My friend cut his finger and I am looking for a morsel of rubber." Chapter 23

Hugh later points out that the correct phrasing is 'cut of himself the finger' and Sedaris finds himself hoping Hugh will injure himself again so that he can return to the store with both the reflexive verb to 'cut of oneself' and the proper word for bandaid. Love it!

The advantage of a diary format is that the entries are relatively short in length, however the inevitable payoff is that the format can become a little repetitive after a while. Sometimes an engaging entry was included without a follow up that left me hanging (did his cat recover?) or wondering what happened only for the next entry to pick up weeks later.

This audiobook comes in at just under 14 hours and is therefore quite the commitment. Volume 2 A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 comes in at a whopping 17+ hours so I don't imagine I'll be getting to that any time soon. If anything, I may listen to The Best of Me by David Sedaris before I see his show in February 2025 as I've had quite enough of the diary format for now.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Hex by Jenni Fagan

In 1591, Geillis Duncan was found guilty of witchcraft and hanged as part of the North Berwick Witch Trials in Scotland. In Hex by Jenni Fagan, the author's protagonist Iris contacts Geillis in her jail cell on the eve of her execution. The year is 2021 for Iris, and she establishes the link between the pair via seance and astral travel.

Even with the stunning cover design, some of you might have dismissed this book immediately given the premise, however I enjoy historical fiction and was interested to learn what Iris had to say to Geillis. Geillis also made an appearance in the first three seasons of Outlander and she really made an impression. (I love that show by the way)! I wondered why Iris would choose to visit Geillis when all hope of salvation was gone. Why not visit earlier and help her to avoid her fate? Was she driven by a desire to provide comfort or satisfy her own curiosity? I didn't really find the answers, but what I did discover was anger and pure rage.

"A woman's voice is a hex. She must learn to exalt men always. If she doesn't do that, then she is a threat. A demon whore, a witch - so says everyone and the law. So say the King and his guards. So say the witch-pricker and his sadistic friends. So say the husbands, the haters, the wives, the daughters, the God-fearing - demons are always trying to kill them, so they know. So says the hangman who sleeps with Bible in hand." Page 8

Those familiar with their history will know that Geillis Duncan worked for David Seaton, who was unhappy about an inheritance that had been given to his in-laws. Seaton accused Geillis of witchcraft and together with a bunch of men, tortured her into naming other women as witches, including his sister-in-law Euphame MacCalzean. The author doesn't shy away from the horror of said torture nor Iris's history of abuse, and the lack of punctuation for dialogue made it even more difficult and uncomfortable to read.

"Euphame MacCalzean. That's who he wanted. That's who he went after. This is my true confession. He could not go after her directly, being of nobility as she is and with money, and he could not risk being accused of trying to hurt her. To kill her, in fact. He could not have his motive - to try to get his hands on her inheritance - as something that linked him to her death. So what other way to put a woman to death? Have her accused of witchcraft, that's what." Page 85

Despite the centuries between them, Iris and Geillis share a hatred for men and this rubbed me up the wrong way from the get go. Not all men in 1591 were evil and the same goes for 2021, although Iris pretty much tells Geillis nothing has changed.

Every page is dripping with rage, and the tender moments between Iris and Geillis weren't nearly enough to counterbalance the helplessness and horror of Duncan's situation, sitting in a dark cell awaiting her execution.

The only reason I didn't put Hex aside and stop reading it was the fact it was only 104 pages long, however I can't recommend this historical reimagining. Some readers might find the ending ethereal and magical, but I just found it a complete waste.

Hex by Jenni Fagan is part of the Darkland Tales series where Scottish authors offer dramatic retellings of stories from the nation's history, myth and legend. For those interested, other offerings in the series include: Rizzio by Denise Mina, Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by Alan Warner, Columba's Bones by David Greig and Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain

I wanted to read a French translation novel during the 2024 Olympics in Paris and The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain was given to me by a friend who loves France so it was the perfect choice.

Published in 2012 and set in 1980s Paris, the author offers us a simple enough premise, a hat is lost and found by a number of characters in succession who find their individual circumstances beginning to change when they start wearing the hat. One character observes:

"Wearing a hat gives you a feeling of authority over someone who isn't, he thought to himself." Page 35

I was so invested in the first character to find the hat that I was annoyed when it left his possession, almost to the point of wanting to put the book down permanently. However, once my irritation subsided I was able to continue the story with renewed interest.

I enjoyed seeing how the individual wearers of the hat began to prosper and make changes to improve their lives, leaving the reader to wonder if there was any power in the hat or if each of the characters brought about their own changes in fortune.

I wasn't familiar with the politics of France in the 1980s - and I'm still not - however the content of this slim volume does include a lot of political commentary from various characters. Thankfully this didn't overpower the narrative and I appreciated the 1980s references. I particularly delighted in this unexpected reference to an awesome song from the '80s:

"In the marble hallway, they handed their coats to some girls with incredible legs and followed the music: rock, or maybe it was pop, the words spoken off-beat in German with a chorus that went 'Rock me Amadeus', as far as Bernard could tell." Page 155

I love that song! Also unexpected was an epilogue at the end that neatly filled in some of the character arcs for the reader, but also raised a question or two that niggled.

The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain is a short, feel good novel that asks the reader to question whether they could transcend the lucky hat idea and make wholesale changes to their own lives themselves. Having just read 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson, I know the answer is a resounding yes, however Laurain leaves it to the reader to arrive at their own conclusion.

As I do with all physical books after I've read them, I produced a Bookmark Monday post for this title over on Instagram and let my inner Francophile run free. The fact that the author noticed and thanked me was a nice memory to accompany the reading of this book.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Sociopath by Patric Gagne

Patric Gagne is a sociopath, and in her memoir of the same title she shares her experience growing up knowing she was different but not understanding why. From a very young age Gagne knew she wasn't the same as other children because she didn't feel guilt, shame or empathy. Raised in a wealthy neighbourhood in California, Gagne was mean to other children, lied, stole, snuck out at night to stalk neighbours and trespassed in their homes even as a young girl. Without fear to stifle her desires, she engaged in very risky behaviour that was hard to listen to at times.

Sociopath - A Memoir by Patric Gagne is a reflective novel about the author's continual struggle to resist her urges and relieve the pressure building inside her to do bad things. I was surprised that her willingness to be open about her transgressions didn't extend to sexual development and she doesn't mention any sexual activity in her memoir. Perhaps this was a conscious choice for her family's sake as Gagne is now married with a family, which isn't a spoiler by the way. That aside, when a person is open enough to admit doing physical harm to another and genuinely doesn't care what other people think, surely a little sexual promiscuity - if indeed there was any - isn't that bad by comparison?

Later in life Gagne learns about sociopathy and begins a lifelong desire to understand everything she can about it. She reads all the information she can get her hands on in the library and her study continues well into her adulthood living in Los Angeles. After noticing a serious lack of information and resources for sociopaths seeking help, Gagne decides she will help her own kind and embarks on a pathway studying clinical psychology, eventually earning a PhD in clinical psychology by examining the relationship between sociopathy and anxiety.

Gagne points out that sociopaths comprise around 5% of the population and includes discussions held with her therapist and lecturers in a years long reflection on her struggle to understand and accept herself.

Working full time in the music industry as a manager while studying, Gagne kept herself busy to limit opportunities to do bad things, however repeated examples of what seemed like a lavish lifestyle - including a reference to attending a party at the Playboy mansion - made this reader's eyes roll. I accept that wanting to understand people from all walks of life doesn’t just mean those with less than you, it also means people with more than you, but I certainly felt that well and truly on display here. Ultimately though, after finishing her memoir, I am left feeling grateful for all Gagne has contributed to the field of sociopathy.

I recommend Sociopath - A Memoir by Patric Gagne for readers who think they might be a sociopath or those who have one in their family, work or friend circle. While interested in the topic of sociopathy, psychopathy and anti-social personality disorders, I wasn't expecting such a deep and protracted look at one patient's struggle to deal with her condition.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton

After reading three 5 star books in a row last month, I turned to some crime fiction from my back catalogue to change up my reading selection. Published in 2016, Daisy in Chains by Sharon J. Bolton is a crime novel with two main protagonists and a great supporting character.

Maggie Rose is a lawyer with a reputation for overturning murder convictions and publishing true crime books about their cases. Hamish Wolfe is a successful surgeon and convicted serial killer of plus sized women and is serving a prison sentence for his crimes.

Detective Pete Weston was responsible for cracking the case that put Wolfe away and saw him convicted of the murders of three women. Wolfe remains the primary suspect in the case of a fourth missing woman fitting his modus operandi. Meanwhile, Wolfe's mother and support group are convinced of his innocence and beg Maggie to take on the case and work on his legal appeal.

I vacillated between Wolfe's guilt and innocence and there were plenty of red herrings throughout the plot to keep the reader guessing. Letters between characters and draft chapters of Maggie's next true crime manuscript are included throughout the text and manage to drive the narrative forward and keep the pace high.

This was a four star read until the big reveal or what some readers are calling the twist. Unfortunately it was a step too far and a bit of a stretch for me and I felt like I'd been duped as a reader. Having said that, the first three quarters of the book until that point was a fast moving crime thriller that had me going backwards and forwards questioning Maggie's motives and Detective Pete Weston's involvement.

Recommended for crime fiction and thriller readers.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: 12 Rules for Life - An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson

Incorporating psychology; psychoanalysis; neuroscience; philosophy; ancient and modern literature; history; mythology; religious texts; poetry; current affairs; cases from his work as a clinical psychologist and stories of his life growing up, 12 Rules For Life - An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson is a difficult book to define.

Listening on audiobook to his distinctly Canadian voice, I was educated and inspired. I had some existing thoughts reaffirmed and challenged from a new viewpoint, and my mind opened to new ideas and concepts. Peterson is quick to explain:

"I'm not for a moment claiming, however, that I am entirely correct or complete in my thinking. Being is far more complicated than one person can know and I don't have the whole story. I'm simply offering the best I can manage." Overture

The best he can manage is a whole lot more than I have been managing and I enjoyed his perspectives immensely. You might assume the 12 rules of the title could be distilled into bullet points to save the reader some 15+ hours of reading time. Perhaps you're even hoping I'll do that here, but unfortunately you'd be wrong. Peterson's content isn't so easily summarised, Rule 12 is entitled Pet A Cat When You Encounter One on the Street for example.

Beginning with the behaviour of lobsters to introduce natural hierarchy and relate it back to humans was fascinating. The first two rules (Rule 1: Stand up Straight with Your Shoulders Back and Rule 2: Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping) were immediately inspiring and motivated me to take a chance on applying for something.

"You need to consider the future and think, what might my life look like if I were caring for myself properly? What career would challenge me and render me productive and helpful so that I could shoulder my share of the load and enjoy the consequences. What should I be doing when I have some freedom to improve my health, expand my knowledge and strengthen my body. You need to know where you are so you can start to chart your course." Rule 2 Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping

The author touches on all fields of study mentioned above, but the key quote I want to remember and come back to again because it inspired me to tackle a long neglected issue arrived in Rule 4: Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday, Not to Who Someone Else is Today and it goes like this:

"Ask yourself: is there one thing that exists in disarray in your life or your situation that you could, and would, set straight? Could you, and would you, fix that one thing that announces itself humbly in need of repair? Could you do it now? Imagine that you are someone with whom you must negotiate. Imagine further that you are lazy, touchy, resentful and hard to get along with. With that attitude, it’s not going to be easy to get you moving. You might have to use a little charm and playfulness. “Excuse me,” you might say to yourself, without irony or sarcasm. “I’m trying to reduce some of the unnecessary suffering around here. I could use some help.” Keep the derision at bay. “I’m wondering if there is anything that you would be willing to do? I’d be very grateful for your service.” Ask honestly and with humility. That’s no simple matter." Rule 4: Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday, Not to Who Someone Else is Today

As well as being educational, Peterson also makes me laugh. His story about taking the spoon back from his son and babysitting a neighbour's child had me chuckling. It's not often that I have two five star reading experiences back to back, but 12 Rules For Life - An Antidote to Chaos is the third five star book I read in a row last month.

Jordan B. Peterson is engaging and I always come away from reading his work having learned something new. He also practices what he preaches - Rule 8 is Tell the Truth or At Least Don't Lie - and causes a sensation online when discussing hot topics from time to time. Acknowledging his sometimes polarising nature, I recently enjoyed his in depth interview with Elon Musk which you can watch in full for free here.

It's likely 12 Rules for Life - An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson is now one of my favourite self help books of all time and I'm still letting it percolate in my mind, but already have plans to read his next book Beyond Order - 12 More Rules For Life.

The author's overall message is to encourage and inspire all of mankind to strive and improve themselves and continue to evolve. While plenty of people in the world don't want to do that, or believe they don't need to do that, I don't know anyone - Peterson included - who wouldn't benefit from doing precisely that.

Highly recommended!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The End and Everything Before It by Finegan Kruckemeyer

* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *

Reading the sample chapter of The End and Everything Before It by Finegan Kruckemeyer gave me goosebumps and reminded me of the fable at the beginning of The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott. The fact that Australian literary author Robbie Arnott (also the author of Limberlost) was involved in the launch of this book speaks volumes about the confidence Text Publishing and this wildly successful author have in Kruckemeyer's debut.

I usually need a clear structure and detest a dreamy narrative, but somehow in The End and Everything Before It Kruckemeyer has produced a loosely structured dreamlike group of stories connected by geographical proximity through time and I loved it!

An intergenerational saga that is far from linear, each generation offers a parable within their tale, yet this happens without clear dates to place characters in chronological order. The reader is left to realise in their own time, oh, that must have happened when the building on the hill was a hospital, or I think this character is the granddaughter of that one.

These kinds of literary feats are usually beyond my intellectual ability or exceed my willingness to surrender to the narrative, but here the author surprised me with this highly original - and accessible -offering. Additionally, I never re-read books because I always worry that I could be wasting an opportunity to discover a new favourite, but I found myself wanting to read The End and Everything Before It again before I'd even finished.

Enough gushing, let me share some quotes with you, because the writing was sublime. When describing a feast, the host remarks that it's a great success, not because he's the best host but because of the parts that make the whole.

"The tables are busy thoroughfares along which the things of life pass back and forth - salad bowls, misplaced forks, conversation, bottles of ale. And laughter. Laughter ringing off glasses, clattering onto plates, making eyes shine, cheeks crease. I sit in the laughter, happy to have set the table that holds it." Page 16

Doesn't that just make you warm and fuzzy inside? It makes me wish I could attend this feast while simultaneously thinking of Christmas.

When Emma the Greek meets Conor the orphan and his daughter, she tells them about her adventures at sea.

"If they'd had a question she'd given detail. If they were silent she'd pushed on. And it felt like a shedding - like standing on a porch when you've run through the rain, and stepping out of boots, and stripping off each layer, and shaking loose your hair, and wiping down your face with a sure, strong hand before you open the door and step into a warm room. It has seemed that she couldn't enter into that warm-room comfort until every tale was told, until every memory - still dripping - was hung upon its hook." Page 62-63

Moments like this made me pause and reflect on the perfect imagery and the character descriptions - while sometimes brief - managed to convey both depth and meaning.

By contrast, one moment had me snorting at the sheer unexpected nature of the character in question. A lady's maid is speaking to her widowed mistress on the one year anniversary of her husband's death.

"'Like how we got in that yellow wallpaper, the day of the... seeing how yellow's your colour, and how it wasn't so much his colour but now that's not so much of an issue. And we thought, if the wallpaper went up all right, then maybe... maybe we could give everything a... a good old spring-clean. And some of his things. His hat there by the door, his overcoat, the pipe there where it lies on that round low table in the library. Well maybe those things could--' I hit Betty so hard in the face her glasses bounced off the nearby wall." Page 72

Poor Betty, she didn't make a sound. Despite her cruelty, the wealthy widow was a favourite character and provided the dark side to some of the more wholesome characters in the novel. 

Birds and nests are an important thematic reference in the novel and a lonely stone building on top of the hill is another marker of time as the reader notes the changes in purpose from prison to hospital, to immigration facility and juvenile home.

Booklovers will treasure the history of the town's bookshop and story connections:

"And on the bus back to the home I read the book. And that night I finished the book, and put it on my shelf. Then I slept the sleep of someone who's just finished a story, one where half your dreams are there already." Page 142-143

That's exactly how I felt about this book! Born in Ireland and now living in Adelaide, it's a little easier to believe this is Kruckemeyer's debut novel when you discover he's an award winning playwright. The End and Everything Before It is a literary fable about love, loss, legacy, purpose and community. It's an uplifting allegory rich in meaning that makes you appreciate the importance of love and remember the passage of time; we're here for such a small time and we all need to make it count! And the ending - gasp - was just sublime.

The End and Everything Before It by Finegan Kruckemeyer was unforgettable and a definite contender for my Top 5 Books of 2024 this year. Highly recommended!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

* Copy courtesy of Penguin Random House *

I'm calling it early, but there's a very good chance A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke is going to make My Top 5 Books of 2024 list. Where to begin?

It's 1885 in Paris and our protagonist Aubry Tourvel is a precocious young girl of just nine years of age when she falls inexplicably ill. Suffering excruciating pain and bleeding from the nose and mouth, the only thing that soothes her seems to be movement.

In the first few pages the author convinces the reader of the seriousness of Aubry's condition with powerful descriptive writing that I'm not likely to forget. Here's a taste:

"And then the pain strikes - a terrible, venomous pain - a weeping pain, like an ice pick through a rotten tooth. It drives straight down her spine, from the base of her skull to the small of her back. She shudders as if electrified, then stiffens up, crushing all the slack out of her body. The old man stops his chattering, watches her face turn cold and pale, watches her lips form soundless words." Page 5

Forced to travel to keep her illness at bay from that point on, days and weeks pass but the narrative doesn't unfold in a strictly chronological sense. Given her circumstances change every 3-4 days, it would be impossible to include her journey and experiences throughout the course of her entire lifetime. Instead the reader experiences her travels in flashbacks and when sharing her encounters with people she meets along the way.

One such person is an old man in Chile who engages Aubry in conversation and explains why he detests travel. He tells Aubry he once fancied a trip to Santiago to see what the fuss was about but it didn't exactly go to plan.

"After an uncomfortable carriage ride to the station, where he discovered his train was running three hours late, he became hungry and ordered sweet potato empanadas. To his horror, he discovered these empanadas were not to his taste at all, far too sweet, and the cafe did not carry his favourite tea - in fact, no tea at all. He was forced to try a sweetened tonic water imported from America, which he'd heard of but never pursued. It was a disastrous meal. He thought if a mere trip to the train station had caused him so much unpleasantness, what horrors might a trip to Santiago inflict? He threw his ticket away and headed straight back home." Page 74

Perhaps you can relate to this sentiment, or - like others she meets on her travels - imagine Aubry's life of continual travel to be adventurous, spiritual or romantic. The old man continues to chat with Aubry, asking:

"And really, was there anything in Santiago or Havana or Madrid - any artwork or museum or towering mountain - he could not simply read about in a book?"

The author's vocation as a librarian in Ohio shines through this book in a huge way. I can only imagine the plethora of books which have inspired his writing style and fuelled his imagination because his own work was perfection on the page.

As well as containing engaging travel adventures that are often dangerous, sometimes desperate and occasionally warm and emotional, Westerbeke also manages to write some entertaining dialogue, particularly when it involves children or a language barrier.

Stories and doorways are important within the narrative and reading A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke reminded me of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow meets The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. It also reminded me of my idealised version of One Thousand and One Nights; idealised because I've never read them but this is how I imagine them to be, only in more detail.

For example, Aubry tells a woman from Heshou that she has "crewed with the cinnamon traders from Seychelles", "built a house in the Hawizeh marshes" and "slaughtered whales in the Faroe Islands." (Page 245)

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke could be categorised multiple ways, it's a travel story, historical fiction, action adventure, science fiction and urban fantasy. It contains a mystery puzzle ball and a secret library, I mean what more could you want? If anyone possessed the talent to bring Aubry's story to the big screen it would be epic.

Highly recommended!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: History Stinks! Poo Through the Ages by Suzie Edge

After enjoying Vital Organs - A History of the World's Most Famous Body Parts by Suzie Edge, I thought I'd give her latest non fiction book published this year History Stinks! Poo Through the Ages a look in. Geared towards a much younger audience, medical doctor and historian Suzie Edge does a great job teaching young readers about history through the lens of toilets and yes, poo!

Beginning with the Romans and their public foricae comprising a marble bench with openings side by side over a communal gutter with fresh flowing water, the author takes us through the latrines, cesspits, garderobes, chamberpots, privvies and water closets across time.

Uniting her medical knowledge with her penchant for history, the author also covers a variety of diseases caused by poor sanitation along with some humorous factoids like this one.

In 1972, archaeologists in York in northern England discovered the fossilised remains of an enormous human turd. It was discovered along with wood, cloth and leather that was left behind from the Viking settlement centuries earlier. Edge tells us:

"This 1000 year old poo measured a gigantic 20 centimetres long and 5 centimetres wide and is believed to be the biggest example of a fossilised human poo ever found." Chapter 5

That certainly had me hurriedly pressing pause on the audiobook and rushing to find a tape measure so I can only imagine the reactions of the 7+ target audience. The fossil is on public display in York - complete with the stench cleverly recreated by scientists - but finding out it was accidentally dropped in 2003 when being handled during a school trip and subsequently broke into 3 pieces was surprisingly distressing.

History Stinks! Poo Through the Ages is a novel way for kids to learn about history, sanitation, historical figures, medicine and archaeology although the topical jokes and 'did you know' sections did begin to irritate this adult reader after a while. That said, there's plenty to entertain and a lot to learn in this short audiobook, from what people in the Roman and Tudor periods used to wipe their bottoms to how astronauts poo in space.

A sneak peek at the author's current writing project tells me that her next offering in the series History Stinks! Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time is due to be published in 2025 and I might just have to take a wee look.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Weyward by Emilia Hart is a tale of three women from three different time periods covering a span of five centuries. In 1619 Altha is on trial for witchcraft, in 1942 Violet is fascinated by nature and insects and in 2019 Kate flees an abusive partner in London to seek refuge in her newly inherited Weyward cottage of the title.

Each of the three women face hardship and challenges to their agency. They each demonstrate resilience and struggle to harness their own inner power and strength stemming from the Weyward line of women before them.

All three characters have an affinity with nature and insects in particular, which gives rise to an accusation of witchcraft for Altha in the seventeenth century:

"Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent, drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar. We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I. For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses. No. It was not a word we ever used." Page 157

As you can see the writing is confident, the research seamless and the reading experience as enjoyable as any historical fiction novel by the likes of Philippa Gregory or Stacey Halls.

"She looked happy, hand in hand with her husband. Perhaps she was, then. Or perhaps I was standing too far away. A great many things look different from a distance. Truth is like ugliness: you need to be close to see it." Page 186

I was desperate for a makeover of the run down Weyward Cottage which sadly didn't come (I'm a sucker for a property makeover or fictional renovation of any kind) but each of the narratives were compelling and I enjoyed how they eventually fit together.

Born in Sydney and now residing in London, Emilia Hart is definitely an author to watch. Weyward by Emilia Hart is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and strong female characters.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner

Many readers will be familiar with the tragic death of Joe Cinque in Canberra in 1997 and the subsequent trial of his killer Anu Singh who administered a lethal cocktail of drugs and then, as he lay dying, failed to call an ambulance in time to save his life.

After reading my review of The Widow of Walcha by Emma Partridge last year, and my astonishment at the despicable cruelty by one of the most cold and calculating females in Australia, a friend I trust recommended I read Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner. Another reader familiar with my reading tastes also recommended it after seeing my review of Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner in 2018 so I guess it was time.

Briefly familiar with the crime and subsequent court cases, my initial hesitancy grew from a concern I would struggle to come to terms with the legal outcome. At the same time I was curious to see how the great Helen Garner would approach the case and decided to listen to the audiobook read by the author in conjunction with the paperback.

The book begins with a transcript of Anu Singh's 000 call and it infuriated me so much I could barely listen. It took paramedics 20 minutes to get the correct address from the caller who gave a false name and false address and was fuelled by her own histrionics, sense of entitlement and selfish fears about what was going to happen to her. Beginning with the most harrowing material first was an inspired choice and immediately set the scene on the despicable type of person Anu Singh was on that night, and no doubt still is.

Garner tries to remain impartial and approaches people from both sides of the case for their input, but I enjoyed her writing most when she shared her frustrations and irritations, from the very minor - as in the quote to follow - right up to the soul destroying question of justice and duty of care.

When describing the first expert witness in the case for the Defence, Dr Byrne, a clinical and forensic psychologist from Melbourne, Garner observes:

"Something about him got up my nose. Was it his debonair and stagy demeanour, his habit of addressing the judge man-to-man, his didactic listing and numbering of points as if to a room full of freshers?" Page 37

When reflecting on the culpability of Madhavi Rao and her role in sourcing the drugs and failing to prevent Joe Cinque's death, Garner fears Rao will end up serving more time in jail than Singh because she didn't suffer from psychiatric delusions; she wasn't mad.

"Where does one person's influence end, and another's responsibility begin?" Page 177

A really poignant question and not one I found a satisfactory answer to. Singh's relationship dynamic with Joe was possessive and manipulative and displayed the hallmarks of a narcissistic cycle of abuse. It's these characteristics and sheer disregard for Joe's welfare that place Singh in the same category as another cold hearted and self motivated killer, Natasha Darcy. How did these women control and manipulate their partners while hiding their torturous and ultimately murderous intent?

To her immense credit, Helen Garner built a personable relationship with the Cinque family and Joe's mother Maria in particular. Garner continually questions her involvement with the family but I genuinely believe she was a source of comfort during the trial of both women right through to their individual verdicts and beyond.

"Nothing I could think of to say or do would ever be of any use to her. I was helpless, only a vessel into which she would pour forever this terrible low fast stream of anguish. The pressure of her pain was intolerable. I would give way under it. I too would fail her. I did not know how to bring the phone call to an end. But then she got a grip on herself. Once more she drew on her deep reserves of formal grace, and let me off the hook. We would see each other - yes, we would meet again in Canberra. I asked her to give Nino my best wishes, and offered the same to her. With dignity she accepted my timid crumbs. We said goodbye. I hung up, exhausted, in awe. I longed to know her, but I was afraid that I would not be strong enough." Page 194-195

Garner bears witness to the never ending depths of the grief suffered by Joe Cinque's family, but in sharing her vulnerability she also demonstrates the toll it can take on those standing close to that chasm of emotional torment and loss. Maria's grace is an inspiration to Garner, just as the author's strength became an inspiration to me.

At the end of reading Joe Cinque's Consolation - A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law I'm left feeling utterly bereft and bewildered. The complete lack of justice for Joe or consequences for his killer and the person who could have stopped his death took my breath away. There's no justice in this case, both women seem to have no remorse and are now free to live their lives while the Cinque family continue to grieve the loss of their son and brother.

Helen Garner isn't able to offer any hope here, but using the gift of her writing and drawing on her own fortitude, she has successfully managed to shine a light on this terrible case, give comfort to Joe's family and educate readers and that will have to be consolation enough.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is my third novel by Lisa See and this familiarity with her writing style made for a quick and easy entry into the narrative. Li-yan is born in a remote mountain village in Yunnan in Southern China.

While set in more recent times, the remote nature of the Akha people in the village and the tea growing and processing practices gave the first half of the novel a feeling of taking place much earlier than 1988.

Li-yan grows up learning the traditions of her people in a village without electricity and never having seen a car. We learn early on that the ruma - spirit priest - is the headman, and the nima - shaman - has the power to determine incantations to heal and determine vitality.

Furthermore, Li-yan explains the village hierarchy as follows:

"These men are followed next by all grandfathers, fathers, and males of any age. My mother is ranked first among women not only in our village but on the entire mountain. She is a midwife and so much more, treating men, women, and children as they pass through their lives. She's also known for her ability to interpret dreams." Page 4

Li-yan doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps to become a midwife in a culture where the birth of twins is considered taboo, as only animals, demons and spirits give birth to litters.

Relatably, Li-yan struggles against numerous elements of her culture:

"Until today, I've never been a troublemaker. I never cross my legs around adults, I accept my parents' words as good medicine, and I always cover my mouth to hide my teeth when I smile or laugh." Page 12

Instead Li-yan seeks knowledge, which eventually takes her out of the village and away from her heritage while maintaining her connection to the tea growing and selling industry. The narrative takes the reader through her discovery of technology and adjustment to China in the 1990s, but it always comes back to tea.

"The color of the brew is rich and dark with mystery. The first flavor is peppery, but that fades to divine sweetness. The history of my people shimmers in my bones. With every sip, it's as if I'm wordlessly reciting the lineage. I'm at once merged with my ancestors and with those who'll come after me. I grew up believing that rice was to nourish and that tea was to heal. Now I understand that tea is also to connect and to dream." Page 175

If you're a novice or dedicated tea drinker or have a passing interest in the manufacture and process of tea making then there's ample history and material here to whet your whistle. Thanks to extensive research, there's an abundance of passages and prose celebrating the benefits of tea, the philosophy of tea and even the poetry of tea. As it is, I don't drink tea, but thanks to the descriptive writing I was at least able to respect the heritage and imagine the allure of pu'er tea and the various effects achieved with every harvest.

What really drives the novel forward though are the relationships between mothers and daughters and Li-yan's own sense of self. These themes are echoed in Lady Tan's Circle of Women (2023) and The Island of Sea Women (2019), both written by Lisa See and set in China and Korea respectively. Published in 2017, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane precedes both of these titles and by reading these stand-alone novels in reverse order I can definitely see an improvement in the intervening years.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See is recommended for tea drinkers and tea aficionados who enjoy historical fiction set in China with a maternal undercurrent and a clever ending.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah has an engaging premise. A young girl wanders from the woods barefoot and bruised into Joanna Teale's world, appearing to be a runaway or escaping from an abusive situation. Single and recently recovered from breast cancer, Jo studies the nesting habits of birds in rural Illinois and is ill equipped to deal with the mysterious girl who refuses to leave.

The young girl calls herself Ursa Major and claims she's an alien in the body of a dead girl. Ursa says she's visiting earth to understand humans and she'll only leave after witnessing five miracles.

"By miracles I only mean things that amaze me. When I've seen those five things, I'll go back and tell the stories to my people. It's like getting a PhD and becoming a professor." Page 21

I can sense some readers rolling their eyes right about now, but the author does a stellar job (pun intended) on the dialogue and plot development from this point on. Ursa is incredibly intelligent and Jo reacts sensibly and takes the steps you expect her to. Together with Jo's neighbour Gabriel, the two of them muddle through the awkward and uncertain days that follow as they try to find out where the changeling is from.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah was a birthday gift from family and a five star read, right up until the romance angle became too much. Jo moved too quickly and went too far, and just two words - cutting ties - resulted in the loss of a star from this reader. The passive aggressive kissing scene in front of Gabe's mother didn't sit right with me, nor did Jo's lack of boundary recognition and quick dismissal of Gabe's trauma and depression. Until this point, the entire book had me enthralled and was a clear five star reading experience.

Whether you choose to believe Ursa's story or not, the narrative can be enjoyed both ways and I found myself looking forward to returning to Ursa's world and of course seeing what the miracles - if any -might be. 

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah was a feel good read with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris

Hard to believe, but Happy-Go-Lucky is my sixth book by David Sedaris. I've listened to all of them on audiobook and I just love his sing song rhythm of reflection and storytelling. After a while, I find myself yearning to hear more of his stories and this time - thankfully - I wasn't disappointed.

I've acknowledged in previous reviews that David's white privilege is on full display but it doesn't get under my skin in the same way it does - or has - for other readers. We already know he's white and wealthy and gay, so taking offence with his privilege isn't quite fair. What other lived experience can he offer?

My key takeaway from listening to Happy-Go-Lucky was a chapter called A Speech to the Graduates which comprised a commencement address Sedaris gave to graduates at Oberlin College. Recorded in 2018, you can watch it for free here. I found the speech so entertaining I listened to it twice and asked my husband to listen to it with me. If asked to choose between Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman (a renowned speech to graduates if there ever was one) and this one, I'd be hard pressed to choose between them. They're completely dissimilar in style, but what they share in common is an ability to inspire young listeners to take risks, make mistakes and make the most of life.

The chapter entitled Active Shooter documents the author's experience going to a firing range for the first time with his sister Lisa.

"This was a niche market I knew nothing about until I returned to Lisa's house later that day and went online. There I found websites selling gun concealment vests, t-shirts, jackets you name it. One company makes boxer briefs with a holster in the back which they call compression concealment shorts, but which I would call gunderpants." Chapter: Active Shooter

Definitely more entertaining than David Thorne's reminiscences about hunting in the USA for the first time in That's Not How You Wash a Squirrel.

As he mentions in his speech to the graduates, Sedaris recommends the practice of having a few jokes up your sleeve at any given time. In a chapter entitled Themes and Variations, the author proceeds to tell some of the best jokes he's heard from fans on book signing tours which had me laughing out loud and often. The two most memorable included a snail's reaction and two priests in a car, while the anecdote offered regarding two rolling pins and falling down the stairs had me laughing so hard I was red-faced with tears streaming down my face.

Sedaris always manages to deliver both light and dark and in Happy-Go-Lucky he bravely discloses his father's declining health, surprising personality changes and eventual death:

"... our natures, I have just recently learned from my father, can change. Or maybe they're simply revealed, and the dear cheerful man I saw that afternoon at Springmore was there all along, smothered in layers of rage and impatience that burned away as he blazed into the home stretch." Chapter: Happy-Go-Lucky

Sedaris has previously written about living in France and learning the language, and in this offering published in 2022, he remembers what it was like during his first few visits, smiling and pretending to know what was going on.

"It was so humbling being robbed of my personality like that. I was never the smartest guy in the room but I could usually hold my own. In Normandy though, I was considered an idiot. Worse still, I couldn't get a laugh to save my life. In America, that was my thing, my identity." Chapter: Bruised

Books that can make me laugh until I cry usually earn an automatic 5 stars from me, but two chapters bothered me a little. The first was about a young male and the second was a chapter entitled Lady Marmalade where the author shared a controversial view about his sister Tiffany's accusations of abuse by their father. While these views were shared by other family members, it's not a topic I was comfortable hearing about or thought was appropriate to share with the public. Nevertheless, I'm not surprised Sedaris chose to work through these questions in the way he knows best, writing.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Book Lovers' Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey

The Book Lovers' Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey is a cute little pint sized hardback packed with bibliophilic facts and fictions. Quirky chapter titles include: Movies That Started Life As Books, Identifying a First Edition, The Twenty Most Influential Academic Books of All Time, Oddest Title of the Year, Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts, Famous Last Lines and more.

Some of the chapters are short and snappy at just a few paragraphs while others are in listicle format making this perfect for dipping in and out of. If you're a traditionalist like me who wouldn't dream of 'dipping in and out' of a book and insists on reading a book 'properly' - front to back - then you'll find a mix/combination of topics that didn't seem united by chronology or subject matter.

The content in The Book Lovers' Miscellany is definitely of a miscellaneous nature, which even extended to bookish gossip in the form of a supposedly well-known estrangement between A.S. Byatt and her sister Margaret Drabble.

"According to newspaper reports, the sisters have apparently been estranged since childhood due to their intense sibling rivalry and are said not to read each other's books due to the autobiographical elements in their work." Page 31

I didn't even know these talented and accomplished authors were sisters, so learning that they don't share their literary success together as they should was sad.

Reading the chapter on Most Prolific Writers, I was shocked to learn Enid Blyton wrote more than 800 books, and while I was aware of Barbara Cartland's prolific writing career, seeing in print that she produced 723 novels in her lifetime was seriously impressive.

I love stationery, but in a chapter about Quills I found this astonishing:

"John of Tilbury, a scholar in the household of Thomas Becket in the twelfth century, described how a scribe taking a full day of dictation would need between sixty and a hundred quills sharpened and readied." Page 41

Wow! I'm presuming you'd need a trunk or sack for the quills. And what did they do for the assizes during that period? The Book Lovers' Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey is full of facts and trivia, much of which I've read about elsewhere*, yet still managed to be entertained by again.

Recommended for trivia junkies and readers who love books about books. You know who you are!

*You may also enjoy these books for booklovers:
The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History by Edward Brooke-Hitching

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor

* Courtesy of Harper Collins *

Growing up and living in Victorian era London, Tatiana Caldwell is unexpectedly orphaned after losing both her parents in quick succession. It's 1864, and at the age of just seventeen and with very little to her name, Tatty (as she calls herself) emigrates to Australia for a fresh start. Driven to acquire and operate her own business one day, Tatty is hard working and far from squeamish when she begins working for Titus Crowe at Crowe Funeral Services.

I've always been deeply interested in Victorian funeral and mourning etiquette* and I loved reading about any and all aspects of Crowe Funeral Services in Sydney.

"Henry and Robert prepared the hearse - a very beautiful vehicle with four glass sides embellished with gold accents and otherwise painted a gleaming black - and the two magnificent horses pulling it. Their names were Spirit and Phantom, which Tatty thought were splendid names for funeral horses, and they were cloaked in black velvet drapes and wore tall head-dresses of thick black ostrich plumes. They were Belgian Blacks and had, according to Henry, cost Titus an absolute fortune to import to New South Wales from England." Page 44

It's disturbing to imagine Belgian Black horses being transported and confined below decks for the gruelling passage to London but they must have been an incredible sight to see on the streets of Sydney at the time.

Titus Crowe is a terrific character who came across as very Dickensian to me and I can easily see him on screen in a TV adaptation. (Miss Scarlet & The Duke comes to mind here, love that show!)

Here's an excerpt about mourning jewellery from Black Silk and Sympathy:

'Here you have your rings,' Mr Coverdale said. 'For ladies and men, black enamel on eighteen-karat gold, inlaid with In Memoriam perhaps, or we can add the deceased's name and date of passing. Alternatively, those details can be engraved on the inside of the band. We also have black enamel and seed pearl rings - they're considered very fashionable at the moment.' Page 68

Tatty attends funerals in the newly created cemetery and it was exciting to be reminded of Sydney's history when it comes to cemeteries, mortuary trains and mortuary train stations. In 2020 I started listening to the Grave Tales Australia podcast, and it was so engaging I went on to read and review their book Grave Tales: Melbourne Vol.1 by Helen Goltz and Chris Adams. 

Back to the book and my favourite section by far was Tatty's visit to the draper and haberdasher Mr Rodney Burton. Tatty discovers his store is three times bigger than the other stores, all the better to house his huge range of fabrics and notions including buttons, trims, nets, ribbons, beads, lace, artificial flowers and more. Tatty is thrilled to discover that at least a third of the well-stocked emporium is dedicated to selling materials associated with mourning the dead.

"As well as the ubiquitous black crape there was also bombazine, parramatta silk, merino, delaine and velvet, and for half-mourning a head-spinning range of fabrics with a little more lustre and life in black, grey, purple-mauve, lavender, violet and white. Burton's also sold a huge selection of handkerchiefs edged with black lace, black gloves, umbrellas and sunshades, black lace fans, black shoes and boots, and a good selection of shawls." Page 73

I'd love to browse that store, wouldn't you? In spite of the funereal backdrop of Crowe Funeral Services, the author has given us an engaging main character in Tatty to cheer for and a relatively light narrative that skips along at a leisurely pace in an early Sydney streetscape.

I haven't read any of Challinor's extensive backlist but I was pleasantly surprised - given the Sydney setting - to discover the author is a Kiwi residing in New Zealand. Better still, Black Silk and Sympathy is just the first in a series and I'm looking forward to some terrific funereal adventures with Tatty at the head of the funeral procession.

If you love Victorian or Edwardian era London and become excited when a mortsafe is mentioned, or you're seeking a light and enjoyable read that happens to be set in the colonial funeral industry this is for you. You can read the prologue and first chapter of Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor here.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

*For books on London cemeteries and death, check out my reviews for:
- Necropolis: London and Its Dead by Catharine Arnold
- This Mortal Coil: A History of Death by Andrew Doig

The following books about Victorian mourning are on my TBR:
- Fashionable Mourning Jewelry, Clothing, and Customs by Mary Brett
- Mourning Art & Jewelry by Maureen Delorme
- Death in the Victorian Family by Pat Jalland

Review: Butts by Heather Radke

Butts - A Backstory by Heather Radke is just that; a history of butts, bottoms, bums and backsides. Heather Radke is an essayist and journalist and makes it clear early on that this exploration will focus on her own individual interest in the topic.

Published last year, the fact this wasn't going to be a - presumably dry - dull academic offering on the topic with the occasional interesting factoid was the primary appeal.

Don't take my word for it, let's hear it from the author in her own words:

"Ultimately though, this book is an idiosyncratic one. It stems from the questions that most interest me about the butt. Questions of race, gender, control, fitness, fashion and science." Introduction

I enjoyed setting expectations aside and following Radke as she covered various changes in fashion and the perception of women's butt size across history. A large derriere was once a sign of sexual deviance or sexual appetite which ironically led to the women's fashion for bustles. (See my review of Pockets - An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close by Hannah Carlson for more on bustles.)

All that aside, I was very shocked to discover:

"In the early nineteenth century, there was a new mania for butts spreading through the British capital. Londoners were obsessed with butts. There were fart clubs where people gathered and drank different juices to see what sounds and odours they would produce." Chapter Life

Really? I wonder how prevalent this was. Black female bodies and sexuality were discussed and those who know their history won't be surprised to learn this included the case of Sarah Baartman. In the past, the butt had become a proxy for female genitalia, but like all fashion, the tides eventually turned.

After WWI, the art deco movement emerged which accompanied a significant change in women's beauty. After the lean war years of food rationing, women with curves were no longer desired and instead the flapper trend was born. Corsets and foundation garments were out and flappers were all about lean lines, straight sleeveless dresses with minimal bust or backside.

In France at around the same time was the dancing sensation Josephine Baker. Unfamiliar with her stardom and infamous banana dance - and putting this audiobook aside to watch it - I was struck by how similar the banana dance is to the provocative dance styles, hip shaking and twerking we saw emerging in the 1980s and 1990s and still today. Don't believe me? Check it out.

In the 1930s, women had difficulty buying clothing that fit off the rack due to a lack of a regulated and uniform sizing system. A study sent government employed measurers in multiple US states to measure the girth, length and height of the American woman. Later a statue of a man and a woman was created that were said to represent the average American - despite only white women being measured - and were named Norma and Normman. Radke takes the time to point out that the Norma statue doesn't have a thigh gap and how ridiculous the ideal of having a thigh gap is.

Moving on, in the 1980s Jane Fonda kicked off the aerobics craze and the infamous Buns of Steel movement. Prior to this, women didn't often work out as athletic bodies weren't considered attractive. Then Jane Fonda arrived and the rest is history. Just as Jane Fonda changed how women - and men - saw their bodies, more recent changes and influences were also included.

I greatly enjoyed learning about the influence Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian had in popularising the return of bootylicious curves, which were a response to the 'heroin chic' look of Kate Moss. Entire chapters were devoted to Jane Fonda, Beyonce, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus and an entire chapter dedicated to the Twerk. My favourite chapter focussed on the work and opinions of Sir Mix-a-Lot and 'that' song Baby Got Back. ("Look at that butt Becky").

Those looking for commentary on butt lifts, butt implants and the BBL won't find any plastic surgery content here. Knowing in advance Radke was going to be following her interests, I can only assume this aspect of butt enhancement wasn't as engaging as the other topics.

Butts - A Backstory by Heather Radke primarily focusses on the female butt while covering a range of interesting topics: science, eugenics, fashion, history, music, celebrity culture, race, sexuality and female empowerment.

Highly recommended.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★