Well, its great to welcome Spring, even though it was supposed to be our hottest winter on record. The days may have been warmer but the nights were freezing! I guess global warming brings about desert- like weather conditions.
But now the weather
definitely feels warmer and blossom decorates the bare trees. Been very fortunate here in Lakes Entrance because we have resident seals and the dolphins have been a wonderful sight to behold in the Lakes. Also the skies look amazing, with the rolling sea-fogs
and huge cloud-formations.
Before I begin writing about my latest reading, I have to mention the ABC documentary The Boy from Kogarah about Clive James, interviewed by Kerry O'Brien. It was so sad to see Clive James looking so
old and sick, but his brain certainly isn't suffering. As the interview progressed, you could see that his sparkle and wit was still there and it was a great TV experience.
I find the ABC offers abysmal viewing at the moment, rivalling commercial TV
trash so this was so uplifting and entertaining. If you listen to audio-books, you can't go past Clive James reading his Memoirs, he brings his books alive.
I am going to order his poetry books because he read some and they were good.
THE
QUESTION OF TRAVEL- MICHELLE DE KRETSER (2012)
I must admit I haven't read any of this writer's work before but it was recommended to me by our local book-shop owner. Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka and now lives in Australia.
Her blurb says she is an honorary associate of the English Department in Sydney University and has worked as an editor and book reviewer. This is her fourth novel and apparently she has won awards around the globe. Hilary Mantel wrote a glowing review of this
book along with A.S. Byatt, both say it's brilliant.
Well, it certainly is a very powerful book with a double narrative and interweaving themes, about two characters -, one male Sri Lankan, who dreams of being a world traveller and the other an Audtralian
girl who loves to travel and then returns to Sydney to work for a publisher of world travel guides.
Ravi, the Sri Lankan, is driven from his country by utterly devastating and shocking events and flees to Australia but getting status as a refugee is
difficult. Apparently his application is not strong enough, which is cruel.
The book contains several strange and interesting support charcters that really gives a richness to the book. Her writing is quirky and sharp which helps alleviate the very
real pathos of the story. Autralian landscapes and our way of life is described in often imaginative, colourful snapshots, with a sometimes brutal view of how migrants and refugees struggle with the language, culture and acceptance in Australian society. I
really enjoyed the book because of de Kretser's sharp intellect and insight tempered with obvious empathy, to two people's different, yet somehow entwined lives.
The ending is both shocking and brilliant.
THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ-
ANNE ENRIGHT (2011)
This novel is not up there with the Booker Prize winner, The Gathering but it is written in a very different voice with soft-lens characters. I will write directly from the cover-notes as they describe
the book and its intention far better than I can.
""The Forgotten Waltz is a memory of desire, a recollection of the bewildering speed of attraction, the irreparable slip into longing. It is set in Dublin, in 2009 and it has snowed. The narrator
is Gina Moynihan and she now has time to reflect and recall the trail of lust and happenstance that caused her to fall for 'the love of her life, Sean. "
(They are both married to other people of course, and he has a curious young daughter, who
seems to hold the core meaning to the story, but I never fully understood why)
Again:
"Anne Enright speaks directly to her readers she won with The Gathering. Here again is the sudden momentous drama of ordinary
life, the volatile connections between people, that fresh eye for flinch and gesture; the wry accurate take on families, marriage and brittle middle age. The same verve, humour and breath-taking control are evident: the ability to merge the ordinary and the
miraculous......"
I find Enright's writing is always insightful and like de Kretser's, at times cutting, sharp and quirky, especially when dealing with everyday scenes and behaviours. I did enjoy this modern day romance, fully Irish-flavoured but found
the story-line a bit tedious even though it was very clever in it's ordinary-ness. Maybe it was my mood.
Nevertheless, she is still a great writer.
SWEET TOOTH- IAN MCEWAN (2012)
I was really looking forward
to this novel as he is one of my favourite writers. I loved Amsterdam, Chesil Beach and even the love it-or hate it Solar. Of course Atonement stands as a classic.
"The year is 1972. The Cold
War is far from over... Britain is being torn apart by industral unrest and terrorism......"
Serena Frome (we are constantly reminded it is pronounced 'Frume) is written in the first person narrative so his voice is feminine. McEwan pays a lot
of attention to her looks, grooming and sexual appetite (she is an early 70's liberated girl, modern and gorgeous rather than bohemian.) She is in her final year at Cambridge, reading mathematics, but finds she is drawn to the literary world. It
is through this channel that she is being groomed for M15.
The blurb describes it as A 'Cold- War thriller which ratchets up suspense while turning it into something else" while another reviewer describes it as 'Jane Austen meets John
le Carre meets John Barth".
I actually didn't find it at all suspenseful, it seemed a very tame book to me, again more about relationships and emotional stuff ups. Everybody seemed to fall for Serena and even when she acted duplicitiously, she was still
very sexy and sweet about it, so much so that even the betrayed Tom Haley could easily forgive her, and yes indeed adore her regardless. He is smitten but in a good English way.
Every now and again, it cites espionage, such as Operation
Mincemeat, (very interesting stuff if you want to Google it) but I found the story-line and plot to be rather predictable and tame. Maybe McEwan wanted to show us how ordinary these people's lives were, but they were all good looking intellectual
academics who were all basically addicted to sex rather than causes.
However, any Ian Mc Ewan book is better than average.
Am Looking forward to the 10th Ubud Readers and Writers Festival next month. Will keep you posted.