Some Top Reads from Hastings Book Chat

A couple of the team have been reading or rereading novels by New Zealand author Tina Shaw. Her new book A House Built on Sand describes the experiences of a woman whose mother has been recently diagnosed with dementia. The story is set in the Bay of Plenty, around Whakatane and Opotiki, which both our readers were very familiar with. Like many of Shaw’s books the story is a little dark, but highly recommended.

Another earlier book by Tina Shaw, The Children’s Pond, took us to Turangi and is about Jessica, who moves to the area to be near her son who is in prison. The body of a troubled girl is found in the pond of the title, triggering questions about Jessica’s own troubled past. The story is well worth reading, a more nuanced read than the page-turning whodunit promised by the cover – although there is definitely a whodunit element.

We heard about the biography, Ans Westra: a life in photography by Paul Moon. Now considered an iconic New Zealand photographer, it was interesting and also sad to learn what a battle for recognition Ans Westera faced. Photography was regarded very much as a male dominated profession and married women were expected to be home with their families. An interesting book illustrated with photographs by Westera.

Among the books that took us to another time or place were English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. This novel from 2000 takes you to back to 1857 and the voyage to Tasmania of a band of rum smugglers and their two eccentric English passengers. There’s also Peevay, an aboriginal who tells the devastating story of his people and their struggle against the invading British. This was a second reading for this reader, who found it as gripping as before and particularly interesting after reading Dr Monty Soutar’s Kāwai books.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak has a recurring theme of water, making its way through the lives of three main characters: Arthur, an expert in Cuniform writing in nineteenth century London; Narin, a young girl in Turkey, whose grandmother plans to baptise her at a temple in Iraq, while the rise of ISIS means they are running out of time; and in London 2018, where  Zaleekah is a hydrologist on a London houseboat, her life changed by a book. Our reader became so invested in the story, she did further research on Mesopotamia, a region shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama is a collection of stories about characters living in Tokyo. Their lives are at a turning point and each of them is inspired to take a new direction by the books chosen for them by an unusual librarian at a community centre library. This was the perfect feel-good read for our reader after a run of dispiriting books.

The book with the longest title was Giro d’Italia: the story of the world’s most beautiful bike race by Colin O’Brien, a history of the famous Italian cycle race and how it was started by a newspaper wanting to drum up publicity. How the race grew from a small affair to the major event it is today makes for a fascinating read, packed with historical interest and stories of the people who raced in it.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See was a brilliant read taking you to the world of the Korean women who dive for seafood. The story follows two friends from different backgrounds who become part of their village’s female diving collective. Set over several decades, the story brings in major historical events, from Japanese colonisation to WWII and the Korean War that shaped their lives.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adiche won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007. The book is set in 1960s Nigeria, a time of civil war, where many people died of starvation and others massacred. The story follows three main characters caught up in these events. Not a cheerful book, by any means, but interesting in how it brings in themes of colonisation, class and race.

With The Divorce by Moa Herngren we travel to Stockholm, where a couple in their fifties find their marriage is over. The plot alternates between characters and brilliantly captures their point of view so that the reader has empathy for each of them. The setting of a family holiday on an island during a hot summer is nicely evoked. A really enjoyable read.

Free by Meg Keneally is the story of Molly Thistle, who is caught up in a childhood prank that goes wrong. Arrested for stealing a horse, she is sent to Australia as a convict. The book charts Molly’s making a new life for herself in a story inspired by real historical figures.

We wouldn’t have a Book Chat without a few mysteries and thrillers on the table. Today’s selection included a new Kate Rhodes, an author we love for her Scilly Iles mysteries. Her new book, The Stalker is a stand-alone thriller with main character, Elly, is an expert in stalking at Cambridge University. She has made a name for herself on media sites too, but then it all becomes personal when someone starts stalking her. A brilliant cat-and-mouse chase that follows the characters of both stalker and victim for and edge-fo-the-seat read.

The spy novel of the session was A Shadow Intelligence by Oliver Harris, which follows MI6 operative Elliot Kane, who moves through different missions overseas, changing identities like his socks. But when a woman he loves disappears in Kazakhstan things become more desperate in a country with some unique challenges. Our reader thought the book read as if the author had some personal experience in the service, which must be a recommendation. There are three Elliot Kane novels so far.

A favourite series is the Brock and Kolla mysteries by Barry Maitland. In The Promised Land, DI Kathy Kolla investigates a series of murders on Hampstead Heath but clashes with recently retired David Brock, who is called in to offer advice. A complex story with the manuscript of a novel at its centre.

The most surprising book of the session was The Radleys, an earlier book by Matt Haig, author of the popular feel-good read, The Midnight Library. Not normally a fan of vampire stories, our reader was soon caught up in this one about a family, where the parents attempt to keep their vampire tendencies at bay. But when their teenage daughter commits an act of violence, their secret has to be addressed. A novel that was a lot more realistic than you might expect.

Hastings Library Book Chat meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 10:30 am. New members welcome.

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