Critic's Choice

A novel about being good, being at fault, being human. When Clary, a single woman in her 40s, has a car accident, she collides with a family of six living in their car. Motivated by guilt, she offers them temporary shelter in her quiet home and it changes her life forever.

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We LOVE "Good to a Fault" by Marina Endicott

Spencer Ratcliff's Wonder, Thunder and Blunder Down Under - reviewed by Shandos Cleaver

At first glance, I didn’t really like the look of Wonder, Thunder and Blunder Down Under, the debut book from Spencer Ratcliff, a “Ten Pound Pom” immigrant to Australia in the 1970s. The cover was so brash and colourful, with a comic style similar to Mad magazine, that I wondered what kind of travel memoir this would be. Maybe this book was just one for the lads?
Once I started reading the book, however, I realised that the overly bright cover was partially deceiving. Yes, Wonder, Thunder and Blunder Down Under did detail some very humorous and at times candid exploits, particularly involving women, but it always stayed on the right side of good taste. Probably one of the reasons for this, is that, along with picking up some Australian strine and a slight twang to his accent (which he occasionally used trying to pass himself off as an Aussie whilst around women, rather unsuccessfully), Ratcliff’s move to Australia also resulted in him picking up the typically Australian gift of yarning. The resulting writing is entertaining and deprecating, and whilst not as polished as I generally would expect in a published book, the casual style is probably part of the book’s charm.
Ratcliff’s tale is divided into twenty-two stories, or should I say “yarns”. Starting with his arrival in Sydney in 1970, for the first half of the book Ratcliff details the exploits of his initial two-year stay in Australia, working as a journalist for ABC radio, both in Grafton on the northern coast of NSW and in Sydney, just down the road from the temptations of Kings Cross. Ratcliff’s encounters with Australian women are particularly memorable, such as the women sitting outside the hotel in Grafton in their boyfriend’s cars and the dangerous Bondi encounter with a bride-to-be.
When a visit from a young English rose and the subsequent blooming of their love leads him to return back to England, Ratcliff promises the land he has also fallen for, and the Coathanger in particular, that he “shall return”. However, it ends up being a long six years, during which time he travels around the globe, taking in England, Africa, Israel and the USA, before he returns to his yearned for Oz.
Whilst Australia is obviously the country at the centre of the book, I found the most engrossing stories to be those set in 1970s Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia), during the three years that Ratcliff spent working at a journalist there during the civil war immediately before Zimbabwe’s creation. Displaying a sensitive insight into the issues being encountered in the country (and from close range due to his work), these sections provide an interesting contrast to the humorous exploits that populate the majority of the book.
It all adds up to Wonder, Thunder and Blunder Down Under being an entertaining read, whether you are interested in Ratcliff’s perspective on 1970s Australia and Zimbabwe, or you just want to casually dip into a collection of funny and entertaining yarns whilst on holidays or while riding the train to work (perhaps even going over Ratcliff’s beloved Coathanger).

Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith - Reviewed by Ron Reynolds

From the author of "Tuesdays with Morrie." This is in the same genre
and a delightful read.
Mitch is asked to prepare a eulogy by his old Rabbi (Reb) Albert Lewis.
Not understanding why, he accepts and thus follows a spiritual journey
for Albom that has him for thinking about his Jewish roots but also the
reasons for our need for belief whether it be in a Creator or perhaps
why we need to have any outer faith outside our own inner belief in the
"self"
A thoughtful read for those who like the challenge of asking, "Do we
need Faith," is the discipline of religious practice really necessary to
our needs in this 21st. century?
Mitch's book is a very interesting non-intellectual look at what some of
us may need reminding of, that material means may not provide us with
the inner peace many of us are searching for. A very good book.

Tara Moss' The Siren - Reviewed by Ron Reynolds

Having only read critiques of Tara's books I looked forward to evaluating a book for myself.

She is a very entertaining read and her plot and its development had me totally riveted to the last page. This has all the elements required for an enthralling read. Her central character Makedde Vanderwall is a beautiful,
intelligent,and totally desirable woman who one can't help but visualize as the fiction representative of the books author.
All in a good read, a definite page turner! Enjoy!

Ian Rankin's The Complaints - Review by Ron Reynolds

Another good read from Rankin.
D.I. Malcolm Fox works in the most unpopular unit of any Police
Organization, Internal investigations.
After his latest successful investigation, Fox finds himself thrust into
a web of intrigue which is set to challenge his reputation and destroy him.
The story is well written characters credible and all in all a fine read
one for one's self or for a Christmas gift.
Whatever you decide, if you give it as a gift,buy a copy for
yourself......borrow it back.....or read it before you wrap it!

Erick Satiawan's Of Bees and Mist - Reviewed by Tara Poole

This is a tale of women, blending aural traditions with demons and ghosts, together with the ever-present pressures of family. Saturated in myth and legend, Erick Satiawan’s debut novel follows the phantasmagorical life of Meridia as she grows up in a complicated house with her distant mother, Ravenna, speaking in tongues and her possessed father, Gabriel, who disappears every night shrouded in mist. The story centres on Meridia and we track her life as she falls in love and marries the enigmatic, yet uncomplicated Daniel, bringing her up close with the schemingly powerful Eva, Daniel’s mother. Throughout it all Meridia must make sense of the ghostly powers that surround her, and divine answers about her family’s past.

This is a novel about the power of women, the magic of mothers, and their hold over family and society. Setiawan’s language is steeped in folklore. He has been imprinted with stories reflecting his complicated upbringing which, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, is “a trifold identity struggle - born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents, where he lived before immigrating to the United States at age 16”.

We see his folklore heritage in every character - every woman has a connection to the spirits, whether it be using bees and fireflies, flowers and scent to their advantage – and in Setiawan’s acknowledgement of the power of gossip and how it can be used to destroy as well as build.

Meridia’s life is lived in an unnamed magical town, where mystics, faith healers, doctors of the occult, prophets, exorcists, flagellants and fortune-tellers are commonplace. As if to reflect this mystical environment, Setiawan’s language is layered and dense, giving a sensation of eating too-rich food. His flourishes are heavy and you are often left with little understanding of the motivations of the characters, or how they came to possess such powerful skills.

The roles of the men are reduced to being pawns at the hands of women, infected with their curses. In Eva’s case she uses bees on hapless men such her husband Elias, compelling him to undertake distasteful tasks which he would never agree to under his own will. This is unfortunate as it means we never get a clear view of the men in Setiawan’s novel as they are shrouded by the women.

Meridia and Eva are the two main protagonists of this tale, and the story is a battle of their wills to control their families. There are dramatic conflicts of demons and ghosts, summoned by the women to turn the minds of others. Meridia must find herself through this coming-of-age tale, hold on to her sanity and understand her past as she comes under constant attack from her mother-in-law. This plot keeps the story on track, even in the face of distracting sub-characters including a madly rutting pig beast who masquerades as a foreigner and an invisible best friend.

However Setiawan’s touching scenes of love and loss are gently played out. There are moments of painful clarity when Meridia must turn against the man she loves, recognizing that he will never be free from the iron grip of his mother. This tale of release, longing and pain does hold its own in the end.

Reviewer Bio:

An avid reader of fiction, Tara’s diet includes everything from Amy Hempel to Zadie Smith. She has a passion for a well turned word, and a voracious appetite for a whacking good story. Her last great read was Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, but holds a special place for Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. Like most good readers of fiction TeeKayP believes she’s got “Australia’s next great novel” in her brain waiting to come out. Until then she’ll just manage and run a PR agency. Well, it pays the bills.

Happy Birthday Dymocks

Dan Brown's THE LOST SYMBOL reviewed by Ron Reynolds

At last it's arrived. Dan Brown's new book is a rollicking good story that travels at whip-cracking speed.
All the elements of Brown's stories that we have come to know, and mostly like, are there.
History, suspense and this time a real surprise, with a philosophy discussion at the end.
Langdon is a character I'd love to meet at a cocktail party, or morning tea where after 10 minutes I could discreetly excuse myself after 10 minutes, but in a story he is a reliable central figure.
Without telling too much of the story line. It takes place in a twelve hour period, is based in Washington and the Vatican is replaced by Washington and The Church by the Freemasons.
Dan Brown's capacity to invent a story and incorporate history, fact and philosophy has no bounds and he obviously does a lot of research, but how he concocts all of this into the complex stories must surely make him one of the best storytellers in this genre we have read for many a day.
Read it, read it and just enjoy......it's a cracker!
Now I'm off to Google and Wiki some of his sources......

We LOVE Sense and Sensibility with Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen & Ben H. Winters <3