The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

I've read The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley which was set in England in the early 1950s. The story is told the first person by 11 year old Flavia de Luce a precocious girl with a fascination for poisons and death. She investigates the murder of a puppet man when he comes to the village. It's a good story if you can suspend belief that an 11 year old could behave this way. She is a great character with intelligence, wit, imagination and humour. Enjoy the ride (or read)! 31/2/5

Mornings in Jenin

This fictional story Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa is based on the events following the displacement of Palestinians and the establishment of Israel in 1948. Most of the story is told in the first person by Amal as she is born in the early 1950s and lives most of her life under the real threat of dying in the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin as Israel increases its occupation of the land with subsequent wars. This is an important story, however, parts of the book descends into mawkish sentimentality, particularly with the love stories. The author has let down her subject, in which she has a personal interest, which makes it all the more disappointing. We need to know more about the plight of the Palestinians and understand that the Israeli side of the story is not always "right". I will still recommend reading this book to get the Palestinian perspective. We can only hope that a solution to this situation will come soon and all will live in peace. 31/2/5

The Gallipoli Letter

The Gallipoli Letter was written by Keith Murdoch in 1915. The letter was addressed to Prime Minister Andrew Fisher. Murdoch was a journalist and friend of Fisher and Murdoch was asked to tell Fisher what was really happening with the Australian soldiers at Gallipoli. The introduction in the book gives comprehensive information about the campaign, which puts the letter in context. The soldiers were under the control of the British. Fisher was excluded and received little "official" information. Anyone, like me, with an interest in this historical event will want to read this. 31/2/5

October Book Club

We had a lovely evening last night at Robyn's place. Everyone was there except Liz who can't tear herself away from her new beautiful granddaughter. We enjoyed a good chat about everything, even books. Robyn got some good books for us to enjoy and we had a delicious supper.

The Twin

The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker is a poignant story, set in the Netherlands. Helmer is running his family farm which was meant for his twin brother Henk, who died young 40 years ago. Helmer's father is now dying and Helmer looks back on a life that might have been had he been able to escape the farm. The reader feels the bleak atmosphere that pervades Helmer's life as he lives through each day, not doing what he wanted to do. A teenage boy is sent to "find himself" at Helmer's farm by a former girlfriend of his twin brother and this changes the dynamic of the household. A finely written and moving story but filled with a sadness for a life of regret. 31/2/5

The Secret Scripture

I very much enjoyed The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. Set in Ireland, a psychiatric hospital is closing down the doctor in charge, Dr Grene, has to assess the patients to determine where they will go. One of those patients is a 100 year old woman, Roseanne McNulty (nee Clear). Dr Grene is unable to find the documentation that explains why Roseanne is there. The story is told in the first person, in the form of a journal, by both characters - Dr Grene and Roseanne. So the reader sometimes gets two versions of past events. Roseanne hides her journal and Dr Grene uses his to try and make sense of the events of his life and discover more about Roseanne. The reader learns about the tumultuous history of Ireland during Roseanne's life. Eventually the reader, then Dr Grene, discovers the truth about Roseanne's life and the reason she was admitted to an asylum at a young age. Highly recommended. 41/2/5