Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I very much enjoyed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt which I was surprised to learn is a "true crime classic", written in 1994.  The main story is about the alleged murder of a young man, Danny Hansford, by an older man with whom he lived, Jim Williams.  The crime takes place in the town of Savannah in Georgia, USA.  Savannah is relatively isolated from other cities in the region and had developed an inward-looking culture with little tolerance for "outsiders".  The story has many eccentric and colourful characters which provide a picture of the community.  The story of the murder and the legal case that follows is so bizarre that it is truly one of those cases where fact is stranger than fiction, and it is told brilliantly. 41/2/5

And the Mountains Echoed

I enjoyed And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini another of his novels set in Afghanistan.  It is a different style to his earlier stories.  It begins in the early 1950s when a father, experiencing poverty decides to give away his very young daughter, Pari, for money to a wealthy woman who cannot have children.  This leaves Pari's brother Abdullah heartbroken and casts a heavy pall on the family.  Each part of the story is told by several characters, usually in the first person and the reader learns about those individual lives and how they intersect.  The story continues almost to the present day as we learn the fate of all the characters.  The history of the country itself is also a character as we learn about the tragedy that plagues Afghanistan and the remarkable resilience of those who remain.  Hosseini is a great storyteller. 41/2/5

Home

I read Home by Toni Morrison which is a very dark tale about an African-American Korean War veteran, Frank Money, who returns home to rescue his sister from a terrible situation.  Frank and his family were driven from their home in the 1930s and were scratching out a living when Frank and his close friends went to war.  The reader learns about his war service and a dark and shameful secret which haunts him.  On his return he has a relationship and then he finds his sister and returns home.  This slim volume is very well-written, but haunting. 4/5

Mrs Queen Takes the Train

I enjoyed Mrs Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn which is a fictional story about Queen Elizabeth II walking out of Buckingham Palace wearing a hoodie and catching a train to Scotland.  Her disappearance causes great consternation.  There are six other characters, mainly her staff, whom the reader learns about in flashbacks.  The non-staff person, Rajiv, serves at a cheese shop where the Queen goes to get some supplies and asks him about travelling to Scotland.  Knowing her identity he helps her to the train station and meets up with Rebecca who looks after the Queen's horses and follows the Queen and Rajiv.  They all end up on the train and Rajiv and Rebecca keep an eye on the Queen as she travels with the "ordinary" passengers.  For the Queen it is a bit of an adventure and there are the other story threads about the other characters which also make the story interesting. 4/5

The Last Resort

I very much enjoyed The Last Resort - A memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers which tells the story of his growing up in Zimbabwe and the tenacious efforts of his parents to hold on to their property.  The book won Best Travel Book 2010 - British Guild of Travel Writers.  Douglas is based in America and travels to visit his parents and keeps in touch with the latest developments by phone.  This is a story where fact is stranger than fiction as the reader follows the tragedy of the gradual destruction of a once prosperous country.  Farmers are evicted from their properties, some murdered, as the farms are given to "war veterans".  The depth of the corruption of the country's ministers and the difficulties faced by citizens is almost too awful to be believed.  The strategies used by the Rogers to survive and remain on their property are shown in this story and the reader can only admire their resilience in the face of many adversities.  Yet there are moments of humour amidst some horrific times.  This is a gripping story. 5/5

The Inconvenient Child

I found this memoir The Inconvenient Child by Sharyn Killens & Lindsay Lewis a good read with some very disturbing aspects.  Sharyn is born in Sydney in 1948, the illegitimate daughter of a beautiful white woman and an African-American sailor who had been in Sydney.  Sharyn is treated shamefully by her mother and grandmother because they are embarrassed by her colour as well as her illegitimacy.  Sharyn's mother keeps her hidden by first leaving her with people she paid to look after her and then putting her in an orphanage.  Sharyn is brought up to herself be ashamed of who she is as she is not shown love and affection, instead she suffers further when she's put in to institutions.  As she gets older she wants to learn about her father but her mother refuses for many years to tell her anything.  She becomes a professional singer and eventually enjoys a good life.  Finally she learns about her own roots and discovers she has a family who accept her with unconditional love. The author has a website with more information here.

Phantom

I very much enjoyed Phantom by Jo Nesbo as I enjoy all his books based on his policeman character, Harry Hole.  In this story Harry is no longer a member of the Norwegian police as he's been working in Hong Kong for some time.  He returns to Norway when he learns his former girlfriend, Rakel's son Oleg has been accused of murdering a young drug dealer.  Harry has always loved both Rakel and Oleg but circumstances forced them apart.  Harry investigates the murder to prove Oleg's innocence and uncovers corruption in the police and city hall as the king pin drug drug baron, the Phantom, pulls the strings in the city.  A typical fast-paced story where the reader wonders how it will end - suspenseful. 41/2/5

October Book Club (in September)

As next Monday is a public holiday, we had our October meeting lastnight.  The weather is warming up now we're well in to Spring.  We all had a very pleasant evening at our hostess' house with lots of good conversation, food and books.  Our hostess provided a delicious supper with her flourless dark chocolate a real hit.  I enjoyed her meringues and shortbread creams, but had no room for the scrumptious banana cake.  Thanks to our hostess for the lovely evening.  She purchased some great new books to add to our collection including the latest Jo Nesbo - a favourite author of mine.  One of our ladies wasn't there as she's visiting her mother in Zimbabwe and the

other missing lady was celebrating her husband's birthday.  Two of our members had recently returned from overseas so we shared stories about our travels.  We'll look forward to getting together again next month.  In the mean time - happy reading!