In 2024 we read 11 books – 6 fiction and 5 non-fiction. Interestingly, all the fiction books were by Australian authors.
Bright Shining – by Julie Baird
Bright Shining has a great sub-title: “How grace changes everything”. All the anecdotes that were published for the initial advertising made it sound really interesting, especially for an audience that had just come through the COVID-19 lockdowns. The issue is important – what does it take for people to show grace in times of great stress, and I looked forward to seeing what this award winning author had to say about it. But on reading the book I found some great stories, but altogether I thought it was a bit disjointed and some of the stories, while interesting personal insights, were not really about grace. I reckon some serious editing could have pulled it into shape.
Published 4th Estate, Nov 2023. Australian author. Non-fiction
Lola in the Mirror – Trent Dalton
Lola … is a fascinating story about a mother and daughter living incognito and on the edge of society in modern day Brisbane. Who are they, what got them there, why do they stay, and how do they survive – it’s a life that I struggle to imagine. This is a well written story, often heart-breaking, showing a glimpse of society that most of us don’t understand. A great read – would totally recommend it.
Published 4th Estate, Oct 2023. Australian author. Fiction
Women and Children – Tony Birch
Growing up in Catholic Fitzroy in the 1960s, the author describes the daily lives of women and children through the eyes of a young boy (about 10). We learn through him about love and domestic violence and injustice for his mother, sister, and aunts, but also about his grandfather and how he deals with the situations.
This is a great read, but I also enjoyed it as it was set in my old stomping ground of Fitzroy, though I lived there 20 years after the setting of this novel. There is a great review at www.theconversation.com/.
Published University of Queensland Press, Oct 2023. Australian author. Fiction
The Biology of Belief – Bruce Lipton
Lipton is a former medical professor and this 10th anniversary edition of his seminal work is about the relationship between mind and body and how we think about ourselves, our health, and our planet. Great ideas! Unfortunately, I struggled with this book. He discusses detailed cell biology and quantum physics that did not make sense – possibly he had to “dumb it down” so much to make a readable book rather than a scientific paper that the logic disappeared as well.
A lot of reviewers qualified their notes by claiming that they were not smart enough to understand the science, however, I think that is more a sign that it was not well written.
Published Hay House LLC; 10th Anniversary edition, Oct 2015. USA author. Non-fiction
Prima Facie – Suzie Miller
Prima Facie is a novel about Tessa, a criminal defence barrister who experiences sexual assault. When it goes to trial she has to face all the legal issues and tricks of the trade that the defendant’s defence barrister and the court system in general throw at her.
The novel is based on the original play written by the same author. It is a very powerful and confronting book and highlights the many injustices we still see with rape cases today.
Our group also saw a film version of the stage play – a very impressive one-woman show set in a single room with a table. Some reviews think the novel form has padding, but I did not find that on the first read.
Published Picador Australia, Sept 2023. The play premiered in 2019. Australian author. Fiction
Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox – by Victoria Finlay
“Colour …” is a wonderful story about the history of colour – about paint, about dyes, about food. The author travels the world to find out the rich history of colours. You can read a section, or colour, at a time – there is no need to read the whole book cover to cover.
I read this book on a kindle – that is, black and white and I don’t think that did it justice. I felt that it needed a lot more pictures – I would recommend the physical coffee table version.
Published Sceptre, May 2003. British author. Non-Fiction.
I is for Isobel – by Amy Witting
I is for Isobel is labelled an Australian classic, but I don’t recall reading it as a youngster – maybe the topic was too difficult. This coming of age novel is told through the eyes of a young Isobel, and we learn of her family’s major failings, but despite this, she grows up and survives. It is set in the 50s and 60s, and I believe it was written in the 70s but it was not published until 1989. Apparently is was initially rejected because the publishers thought its depiction of a mother tormenting her child was just too much for the public to handle.
A well-written view of the dark side of family life, but I won’t give it a global recommendation as it could be a bit triggering.
Published Text Publishing, Jan 2014 (first published 1989), Australian author. Fiction.
All that’s Left Unsaid – Tracey Lien
Ky and her brother Denny are children of Asian immigrants in the 1990s – they live in Cabramatta, a suburb of Sydney. This novel tells the story of the brutal death of Denny, and focuses on Ky’s attempts to find out what has happened, coming up against a wall of silence often part of a refugee’s (mainly Vietnamese) life.
This is a great story of refugee life told in the form of a mystery – definitely recommended.
Published by HQ Fiction GB, Nov 2023. Australian author. Fiction.
The Portrait of Molly Dean – Katherine Kovacic
Alex Clayton is an art dealer and at an auction she finds a lost portrait of Molly Dean, a woman who was murdered 70 years earlier (in 1930). Before selling it on she needs to clean up the painting and get its provenance, and this is the start of the mystery into what happened in the past.
The story is based on a true, unsolved murder mystery, that occurred in Elwood, Melbourne, and the novel imagines what might have happened. To explain the story, the narration jumps between 1930 and 1999, but the chapters are clearly labelled and this dual timeline story works quite well.
I loved this mystery – so much that I went on to read the other Alex Clayton mystery books as well. I will definitely read more from this author. As well as these historical novels, Kovacic has written a non-fiction book on Australian dogs, plus she has written for the TV series, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries.
Published by AWT, March 2018. Australian author. Fiction.
What my mother and I don’t talk about – Edited Michele Filgate
Subtitled “Fifteen writers break the Silence”, this is a compilation of stories from a range of authors about their relationship with their mothers. Most of the stories, however, involved child abuse of some form and that is what people don’t talk about. In some cases, the mother was also abused. I was not expecting this book to be so heavy and did not enjoy it. One reviewer I read claimed it would break your heart and make you laugh at the same time but I could not find humour in these tales.
Published by Simon & Schuster, May 2019. USA Editor. Non-fiction collection.
We are the Stars – Gina Chick
Gina Chick was a winner of the reality program, “Alone”. Her memoir tells the story of her extremely unconventional childhood, and how it shaped the rest of her unconventional life. Beautifully written – what an amazing life, but how much pain can one person deal with?
Nowadays Gina runs “wild” survival camps – both physically and mentally challenging.
Published by Simon & Schuster Summit Books, Oct 2024. Australian author. Non-fiction memoir.