A New Year of Recommendations from Book Chat

So many fantastic reads came across the Book Chat table at our January meet-up. Click on the titles for catalogue information.

Several books by New Zealand novelists stood out for their original points of view and interesting writing. Tauhou by Kotuku Titihuia Nuttall is a testament to the resilience of indigenous women, where two sides of a family, one Maori the other Coast Salish, work together to heal and overcome the trauma of colonisation. The experimental narrative has elements of fable, poetry as well as historical and autobiographical writing and our reader found it enchanting.

Kāwai: for such a time as this is the first novel by Dr Monty Soutar, acclaimed for his historical non-fiction. Set in pre-colonial Aotearoa New Zealand, this is the first in a trilogy where a contemporary descendant seeks the truth about his Maori family lineage. Taking us back to a time where a warrior culture was necessary for survival, the story is told through the eyes of Tawae who at only thirteen sees his father cut down before him in battle. A brilliant, engaging and accessible read.

We’ve also loved the new book by Catherine Chidgey, The Axeman’s Carnival, with her most unusual narrator to date, the magpie Tama. Rescued by Marnie, a farmer’s wife, Tama, dressed up and learning to speak in the voices of Marnie, her husband Rob, their visitors as well as the tv and radio, becomes an internet sensation. With a nod to Denis Glover’s poem The Magpies, the book similarly highlights the harsh realities of farm life as well as the relationships between animals and people.

The Axeman’s Carnival is a slightly less chilling read than The Wish Child and Remote Sympathy, two previous books by Catherine Chidgey but which also showcase her brilliant writing. These books were also discussed at Book Chat and are set in Nazi Germany and are well worth picking up if you haven’t already read them.

Turning to some non-fiction, we loved the memoir Passages by Linda Trubridge which describes the author’s nomadic years sailing halfway around the world with her husband and two young sons. It describes the challenges to normal family life, and how their experiences shaped their lives. Now living in New Zealand, Trubridge has produced a fascinating and vivid account of an extraordinary family adventure.

Another family memoir Searching for Charlotte describes the life of Charlotte Waring, said to be the author of Australia’s first children’s book, A Mother’s Offering to Her Children which was published in 1841. Written by two of Charlotte’s descendants, the identity of the early book's author was for a long time a mystery, and the book describes an independent woman for her time, an author, an artist as well as a pioneer in the fight for women’s legal rights. An inspiring story.

We’ve also been following some top international writers with interest. Beloved author Maggie O’Farrell won the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for Hamnet, a fictional account of Shakespeare’s family. Her latest novel The Marriage Portrait takes us to 1550s Florence where teenage Lucrezia is married off to the duke Alfonso, a mysterious and ruthless man. How does someone just out of childhood adapt to ensure her survival? We’re all Maggie O’Farell fans at Book Chat and the new novel did not disappoint.

Another big hitter is Ian McEwan whose latest book, Lessons, follows young Roland Baine, a boy growing up in post-war Britain and events in his life years later in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. Roland is scarred by what happened in his childhood, and loses himself in all kinds of distractions in the shadow of extreme global events. Through it all he learns lessons from the important women in his life. Epic, mesmerising and deeply humane says the blurb.

The Netanyahus is by American author, Joshua Cohen and is set in upstate New York in 1959. It’s about a Jewish historian who finds himself hosting an Israeli scholar and his family. The book is a kind of campus novel, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and a comedy about fitting in, identity and politics. Strikingly original, this novel won last year's Pullitzer Prize for fiction and is well worth checking out if you’re after something a bit different.

Paper Cup by Karen Campbell takes you inside the mind of a homeless person which sometimes feels awkward and other times moving or very funny. It’s a kind of road story, in that a cluster of events send homeless alcoholic Kelly from Glasgow to her home town to do a good turn and where she must also confront the events of her past. Several of Book Chat were amazed by this book and can’t recommend it enough.

A Slow Fire Burning is by The Girl on the Train author Paula Hawkins. Like her first book, we’ve got flawed characters – three women connected to a murder victim found on a houseboat. All are simmering with resentment so the question is could one of them be the murderer. The first half of the book is rather complicated, but it all builds to an interesting and engrossing read, so well worth the effort.

Honourable Mentions:

On the subject of war stories, in particular, espionage, we also loved One Woman’s War by Christine Wells and Transcription by Kate Atkinson. The standout fantasy novel of the month was Map’s Edge by David Hair and The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett gets a nod for his lovely wry and intelligent humour. The Lost Man by Jane Harper was a powerful crime read, surprisingly chilling for its atmospheric outback Australia setting. It’s quite different from the short, humorous crime novel: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten - the second in a series that's going to be for the must-read pile.

We happily recommend all these titles. Hastings Library Book Chat meets on the third Wednesday on the month at 10:30 am. New visitors are most welcome. Our next meeting is 15 February.

21 February 2023

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