More Recommendations from Book Chat

We can’t seem to get enough of Tim Winton, with two memoirs by the author reviewed at September's Book Chat meeting. The Boy Behind the Curtain reveals in Winton’s childhood similar themes that are dealt with in his novel Eyrie, another recommended read. Tim Winton was a policeman’s son and saw his own fill of trouble, something he has used to effect in his fiction. Another memoir, Land’s Edge, describes Winton’s love of the beach and surfing, illustrated with amazing photographs. It shows his connection to nature and how it informs his concern for the environment, another theme in his stories.

The Path of Peace by Anthony Seldon is the author’s research of the Western Front and the subsequent walk he did from one end to the other. This was a 35 day pilgrimage from the Swiss border to the English Channel. The book is well-researched with descriptions of the WWI battles and illustrated with maps. The book contains memoir, nature writing and a look at the grief and legacy of a terrible war. The best book this reviewer has read this year.

Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler is a sweeping historical novel that takes you back to Scotland during the eleventh century - a time when paganism sat alongside Christianity. Gruoch has been given the prophecy that she will one day be Queen, and this seems likely to happen when she becomes betrothed to Duncan. But Duncan’s court is dangerous and she flees before her coronation. However, Gruoch is certain that whatever happens, one day she will fulfil her destiny. This was a very entertaining read about a fascinating time while reimagining the early life of Macbeth’s future wife.

The Prophet and the Idiot by Jonas Jonasson is a quirky  new story by the author of The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. In the new book astrophysicist Petra has determined that the world will end on a particular date in September that year. She teams up with Johan, a Domesday prophet, and Agnes who at 75 has a much younger alter-ego that enables her to make a packet on social media as an influencer. The trio journey across Europe in Johan’s campervan to make the most of what time they have left, but they are all in for a surprise, as is the reader.

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams is set in Oxford,1914, when many young men are enlisting for the war across the Channel. So it is left to women to carry on the work in the bindery at Oxford University. Here we find twin sisters Peggy, who would like to study in her own right, and Maude. Their lives are disturbed by the arrival of refugees from Belgium. This book was thought not as good as the author’s previous book, The Dictionary of Lost Words, but is really interesting about book binding.

Sleep Pale Sister by Joanne Harris iss is an early book by the author of Chocolat and is quite beguilingly different. It’s very dreamlike in the way it follows the story of Effie, who as a nine-year-old was an artist’s model; ten years later she's the artist’s wife. Henry Chester is a domineering Victorian who keeps young Effie sedated. But something is stirring in Effie as she plans her revenge. An undercurrent of evil pervades the narrative, and the book is a bit of a slog.

Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong follows a biracial Chinese American family, the owners of a shopping empire that sources luxury goods from abroad. Morgan is the golden girl, but a catastrophic event threatens her world, leaving her sister Riley questioning her identity. An interesting premise and very readable but altogether a less than memorable novel.

The Spanish Garden by Cliff Taylor, on the other hand, comes highly recommended. The novel is set on a single day and follows Sidney King, who from his rural property on the Kaipara Harbour is about to turn 100. The story includes snippets from his past to fill in his life, his falling out with his father and his stint in the Spanish Civil War. This has changed him and left Sidney with a haunting mystery – can he make peace with his past? 

Exit 45 (also listed as Sometimes at Night) by Ben Sanders continues the series featuring American private investigator Marshall Grade, who is driven to investigate when a former NYPD colleague is shot dead in front of him. Ray Vialoux owed a lot of money to the wrong kind of people. This is a pacy read involving drug dealers, bent cops and the mob as well as one or two family secrets.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabladon is the seventh book in the Outlander series which has had our reviewer hooked over the last year. Jamie and Claire have turned up in the Americas for the time of the rebellion against the British and the battle for independence. Things are complicated by Jamie’s son being a soldier with the British, while Jamie and Claire are fairly certain it will be the rebels who win. The Outlander novels may be very long books, but they are quite unputdownable.

Safely Home by Randy Alcorn
This novel follows two friends – former college roommates Ben Fielding, now a company executive and Li Quan who had returned to China hoping to be a professor. When Ben is sent to China to explore potential business possibilities, he looks up his old friend and discovers that Li lives in fear for his life because of his Catholic religion. An engaging read with a Christian thread running through it.

29 September 2023

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