The Arrival is a touching story of a family who moves to a new place where the language, people and customs are all foreign. It is a tribute not only to migrants and refugees but to anyone who has ever felt like a stranger within their surroundings. The book is wordless and the story is told through rich images of surreal landscapes with bizarre creatures. Although the use of the picture book format implies the story is for children, it is for all ages. A quick look at Shaun Tan’s website reveals he does not write for a specific audience but rather lets his picture books create their own following. The book is highly pleasing and a well deserved winner of the NSW Premier’s Book of the Year Award (2007).
General fiction
The unthinkable happens - the Queen absconds from Balmoral with the assistance of a footman and boards a plane for St Lucia where she has bought a new villa 'off the plan' and hopes to live anonymously ever after. However, things do not go as planned.
The Queen does not usually travel without staff who smooth the way and take care of tedious routines such as check-in and luggage collection, to say nothing of security and safeguarding posessions. Soon after arriving in St Lucia having lost her luggage, the Queen is robbed of the valuable family emeralds that Queen Mary's brother gave to his mistress and is evicted from the hotel. With her villa nothing but a hole in the ground the Queen is facing destitution until she is rescued by a local guide who offers her a bed in the back of his lean-to rum stall where she works during the day to earn her keep.
This is a tongue in cheek look at the royal lifestyle and the Queen's musings on how she has lived make interesting food for thought.
Catalogue entry for The autobiography of the Queen
The uncommon reader (Alan Bennett)
The Queen and I (Sue Townsend)
Queen Camilla (Sue Townsend)
Historical fiction / Reviewed by Trepol
This is the latest instalment in the Boleyn series from a reliable and informative fiction author. The novel covers Henry VIII's marriages to Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard and closely examines the role of Jane Boleyn at the Tudor Court. The intrigue and strain of life at court is balanced with the frivolity and largesse of the daily routines played out by the main characters and their servants. One of the over-riding themes of the Boleyn novels is the politics and the scheming of the great families of the day - the Boleyns, Seymours and Howards as they jockey for power and favour with the king. Katherine Howard, a young cousin of Anne Boleyn, believes she can win the high stakes game and become Queen of England and provide the aging and sickly King with heirs to the kingdom. This drama is played out against shadow of the Tower and the axe that hovers over the members of the King's inner circle. The scheming Jane Boleyn is both traitor and victim in this novel of a dangerous Tudor powerplay.
Catalogue entry for The Boleyn Inheritance
Earthly joys (Philippa Gregory)
Year of wonders (Geraldine Brooks)
The other Boleyn girl (Philippa Gregory)
Crime fiction / Reviewed by Trepol
This is the second title in the Marjory Fleming series and centres on the seaside village of Knockhaven where the lifeboat that is crewed by volunteers sinks during a fierce storm. The author poses an interesting mystery for the reader - before Marjory (aka Big Marge) and her team can figure out whodunnit they must first identify the intended victim from the lifeboat crew. All the details of life in a seaside village are realistically portrayed - the local busybodies, the 'seachangers' drawn to Knockhaven for a change of pace, the worrying influx of drugs that is taking over from more traditional forms of employment such as fishing. One of the more interesting aspects of this book is the use of regional Scottish colloquialisms that bring colour and authenticity to the text.
The characters also are powerfully drawn. Big Marge has some challenges at home to meet and the local doctor and publican are both complex characters. DS Tam MacNee is a character to rival Rebus and has the potential to upstage the main character.
Catalogue entry for The darkness and the deep
Dead and buried (Quintin Jardine)
Chain of evidence (Garry Disher)
The hollow core (Lesley Horton)
Water like a stone (Deborah Crombie)
Grave doubts (Elizabeth Corley)
One under (Graham Hurley)
Gone to ground (John Harvey)
Friend of the devil (Peter Robinson)
Invisible prey (John Sandford)
Shifting skin (Chris Simms)
Pets / Reviewed by Trepol
Newly married, John and Jenny Grogan thought that a puppy would be good pre-baby training, a living creature on whom to practice and refine their parenting skills. Enter Marley, a cute loveable golden labrador puppy who grew into the best friend any family could hope for. He was also a four-footed demolition contractor, garbage disposal unit eating everything including a gold chain that was a gift from John to Jenny and had to be 'recovered' once nature had taken its course.
Marley was expelled from obedience classes, disgraced himself at the local dog walking beach and had a starring role in a feature length movie. He shared all their highs and lows - pregnancy, miscarriage, babies and a move from Florida to rural Pennsylvania as a true family member. Recommended to anyone who has ever loved a dog or other pet - but be warned, tissues need to be on hand for the ending.
Catalogue entry for Marley & me
From Baghdad, with love: the story of a dog called Lava (Jay Kopelman)
A friend like Henry (Nuala Gardner)
Survival / Reviewed by Trepol
This is a disturbing and unforgettable true story from one of the survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash. The passengers were members of a Uruguayan rugby team and their families travelling to Chile when things went badly wrong and the plane crashed onto an isolated glacier 11,000 feet above sea level. Forced to fend off death from exposure and starvation, the dwindling survivors resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Several efforts to reach safety were abandoned until Nando and one of the other fittest survivors walked for 10 days to reach help. Imagine their elation when they spotted the first sign of human habitation (a rusty tin can) and the first person they saw was a horseman who knew of the crash and the unsuccessful search for survivors - he could hardly believe their story. Following 72 days in one of the most inhospitable regions on earth the remaining 16 survivors were flown to safety.
Not for the faint hearted, Miracle in the Andes is a testament to both the survivors and those who did not make it down from the mountain, and also to one man's faith in life and his amazing ability to move on from this disaster and live life to the full.
Catalogue entry for Miracle in the Andes
Call of the wild (Guy Grieve)
Mukiwa: a white boy in Africa (Peter Godwin)
When a crocodile eats the sun: a memoir (Peter Godwin)
An ordinary man (Paul Rusesabagina)
Dangerous beauty: life and death in Africa: true stories from a safari guide (Mark C Ross)
Rainbow's end: a memoir of childhood, war & an African farm (Lauren St John)
Don't let's go to the dogs tonight: an African childhood (Alexandra Fuller)
Death in the long grass (Peter Hathaway Capstick)
Travel / Reviewed by Trepol
This is an unusual travel narrative of the author's search for the oldest olive trees in the Mediterranean. Whilst she discovers some trees allegedly 6,000 years old in Lebanon there is no conclusive evidence of where these originated. The author had a wonderful time in Crete, Libya and Malta investigating local olive growing and producing practices and was fortunate to visit a family in Lebanon who lived on the bountiful produce they could harvest from their land - a foodie's dream. In order to obtain the correct visa for Libya she enlisted the aid of an acquaintance in the oil industry who smoothed the way and provided assistance with transport and accommodation in this little visited country. Her visit to Palestine was more disturbing as the local's access to traditional farming land and therefore olive cultivation is restricted due to regional politics. She joined in a communal tree planting in a small village as the people attempt to resurrect traditional crops. This was a 'sunny' read steeped in ancient rural traditions in some cases stretching back thousands of years set in magical locations visited by the author around the Mediterranean.
Carol Drinkwater is well known for her role as Helen Herriot in the first three series of All Creatures Great and Small. More recently she and her husband purchased a run down olive farm in the hills behind Marseilles where they have spent years bringing the ancient trees back into production.
Catalogue entry for The Olive route
Absolutely faking it (Tiana Templeman)
Diplomatic baggage: the adventures of a trailing spouse (Brigid Keenan)
With the Kama Sutra under my arm: an Indian journey (Trisha Bernard)
Are we there yet?: chasing a childhood through South Africa (David Smiedt)
Nine summers: our Mediterranean odyssey (Rina Huber)
Tuning out: my quarter life crisis (Katrina Blowers)
Driving over lemons: an optimist in Andalucia (Chris Stewart)
Crime fiction
This is a very accomplished first novel with a tight plot, well developed characters and a pervading sense of unease, which draws on Shetland folklore to add a magical element to the story.
This novel opens with the discovery of a mutilated body buried in the peat at Tora and Duncan's farm. Once the police investigation begins Tora quickly discovers an inconsistency in the body and the death certificate - the death apparently occurred 12 months earlier than the body suggests and there is no doubt that the body had given birth a short time before her death. Further investigations lead Tora to discover that every 3 years there is a slight increase in the deaths of women in the childbearing age range together with an increase in the number of male children born on the islands.
A day's sailing takes Tora and Duncan close to the mysterious island of Tronal where a fully equipped but under-utilised maternity facility operates to meet the needs of the small Shetland community. Tora fears for her life when death once again touches the local community and is at a loss to know who to trust. Never really comfortable with her in-laws and their isolated lifestyle and feeling increasingly distant from her husband, Tora is both bewildered and captivated by her boss at the hospital and increasingly wary of the local police chief.
Further investigation leads to a growing suspicion of events that are so monstrous that Tora wants to wrong. However, a secret visit to Tronal confirms her worst fears and she then becomes a captive and potential victim of the 'grey men.'
Sacrifice is a highly recommended page-turner and I'm looking forward to the second novel from this talented new author.
Midnight is a lonely place (Barbara Erskine)
Whispers in the sand (Barbara Erskine)
Memoir / Reviewed by Trepol
This memoir begins with a frightening recollection of the author's first trip to Zimbabwe on a camping safari and of a menacing encounter with lions. The author spent a terrifying night because she hadn't closed the tent flaps and the lions could not only see into her tent but their gamey breath filled the small space. She was saved by the quiet arrival of an elephant which scared the lions away. This was the beginning of Sally's love affair with Africa and elephants that led her to leave her home in Australia to pursue conservation work in Zimbabwe.
After this exciting introduction to life in the bush, or bundu as it is known in Africa, the author begins a study of elephants in Zimbabwe. The book describes life in a nearby luxury tourist camp compared to a simpler daily routine in her own research camp with local staff and mechanical challenges adding colour and authenticity to her account. Throughout the book the elephants are constant companions and a source of wonder and joy as they follow the ancient migration paths through the research area.
Catalogue entry for Silent footsteps
Christine's ark : the extraordinary story of Christine Townend and an Indian animal shelter (John Little)
Relentless enemies : lions and buffalo (Beverly Joubert)
Call of the wild (Guy Grieve)
All the way home : stories from an African wildlife sanctuary (Bookey Peek)
An otter on the Aga : and other true tales from an animal sanctuary (Rex Harper)
Its every monkey for themselves : a true story of sex, love and lies in the jungle (Vanessa Woods)
St Jude's (Gemma Sisia)
Whatever you do, don't run (Peter Allison)
Stealing the Scream chronicles the brazen theft of expressionist artist Edvard Munch’s most famous painting, The Scream (Skirk). In the early hours of February 12, 1994 two men drove to the National Gallery of Norway and retrieved a ladder from the bushes that they hid the day before. Within 50 seconds of breaking in, the thieves were in possession of a painting valued at $72 million. Historically, art thieves steal on behalf of a buyer instead of keeping the objects for themselves and such was the case with the Scream. The story reads like a suspense novel set in the art underworld, except it is all deliciously based on fact. Dolnick also includes many side stories to other famous thefts, notably Titian, Goya, Vermeer and Rembrandt. Winner of the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Fact Crime in 2006.
Memoir
This is a very entertaining read and is laugh out loud funny in places. The author spent about 30 years in Zimbabwe arriving in 1977 when it was called Rhodesia, working first with rhinos, elephants and cheetahs. Much of the book is about the author's work and interest in the Matusadona National Park and the many hours he spent in his small Cessna conducting aerial surveys for conservation programs. There are amusing accounts of his first job as a wildlife guide and the effort required to convince his clients that he was indeed an expert. His adventures included almost sinking a raft with the well known concervationists Gerald and Lee Durrell aboard, keeping his cool with a knowledgeable teenage birdwatcher and the establishment of a successful cheetah conservation program.
The author began work with wildlife almost by accident, however, his love of animals and dedication to their welfare and survival saw him start out in the career of a lifetime and later to found the Zambezi Society which works to save Zimbabwean wildlife. The memoir documents the changing political climate of Zimbabwe and its effect on tourism and wildlife.
Catalogue entry for A wild life
Whatever you do, don't run: my adventures as a Botswana safari guide (Peter Allison)
Tick bite fever (David Bennun)
Dry water: diving headfirst into Africa (Tammie Matson)
It is interesting to imagine what would happen to the planet if the human race was to disappear in an instant. How long would it take for cities to collapse and be reclaimed by the earth if people weren’t there to maintain it? What sort of legacy would we leave behind for the natural world? Alan Weisman explores these and other concepts of evolution and adaptation through real life examples which are both interesting and alarming. I was especially horrified to learn of the North Pacific Gyre (3 million tons of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean in an area the size of Texas!) But it is not all bad news; the earth will eventually heal once we stop interfering. Although the theme sounds arduous, this shocking thought experiment is written in an accessible narrative. It is truly a fascinating and timely read.
