Slaughterhouse 5

I enjoyed Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, a classic that I hadn't read before.  Billy Pilgrim is an American POW who survives the Dresden bombing and when the War ends makes his way home where he marries well, inherits a business and has a family.  The story travels through time and back as Billy tries to make sense of his wartime experiences.  It is an easy and clever story to read with every death signposted "so it goes". 4/5

The Hunger Angel

I read The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller but it is not really a book to "enjoy".   Müller received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009.  The story is narrated by Leo, a young Romanian man, who is taken by the Russians to a work camp.  The story is about his suffering and the suffering of others in the camp where all are acquainted with the "hunger angel".  It is a very grim story as the workers try to exist on the very small quantities of food they are given.  All forms of human nature are present in this camp.  Some will go to great lengths to procure enough food to sustain life and some of them fail.  Finally Leo is returned home, a very different person. 31/2/5

What's On A Man's Mind

I found What's On A Man's Mind? by Geoff Barker very interesting.  Barker provides a comprehensive guide for women to interpret what men mean when they speak or behave.  The author does not back away from revealing sometimes unpleasant truths about himself as a way of making his point.  It is easy to read.  Importantly, most men don't set out to deliberately hurt women rather some women may take offence too easily.  The author denounces violence against women.  I think young women should read this book as they commence action in the dating scene, and perhaps mothers of daughters would also find it helpful. 4/5

Currawalli Street

I read Currawalli Street by Christopher Morgan which is set in Melbourne, Australia in two time periods - 1914 and 1972.  It is about the people who live in the street.  In 1914, the street was quite new with houses being built and there were a number of people living there and most of the men then went off to war.  In 1972 the grandson of one of the original owners returns home from Vietnam because of a family tragedy.  There were a number of characters in each time period which I found difficult, trying to remember who was who.  The 1972 mystery did not have the outcome I expected.  21/2/5

Elizabeth is Missing

I very much enjoyed Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey which is about an elderly woman, Maud, who has dementia and believes her friend Elizabeth has gone missing.  The narrator is Maud and the reader is cleverly taken in to her world.  She goes to Elizabeth's house and other places she could be and when she tries to tell her daughter and others, she's brushed off.  Elizabeth's disappearance reminds Maud of the disappearance of her sister Sukey in 1946.  So the reader is taken to 1946 and the events surrounding her disappearance.  There were only a small number of suspects.  Both these mysteries are eventually resolved.  This is Healey's debut novel and I look forward to reading more from her. 41/2/5 

Memory Wall

I enjoyed  this collection of short stories Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr with the stories having the theme, memory.  Each story is beautifully crafted and gives the reader something to think about.  Memory is essential to us all and the author's stories emphasise its importance.  My favourite was Village 113 which shows what happens to a village that must make way for a dam.  The village will disappear, but will the memories be maintained?  4/5

Taking Charge - A journey of recovery

I read Taking Charge - A journey of recovery by Graham Martin because he contracted Transverse Myelitis about five years ago.  As I also suffer from that I was interested to read about Graham's recovery.  I met Graham at a Transverse Myelitis Day held at Spinal Injuries Australia where he gave an interesting presentation.  In the book Graham tells what happened when he first realised something was wrong with his legs.  Graham is a medical doctor and a psychiatrist and works at a leading hospital in Brisbane.  When his illness manifested itself he was rushed to hospital and thus became a patient looking at the health system in a new and different light.  He was later transferred to another hospital and he was understandably frustrated with not knowing what was going on and what was wrong with him.   The book is written in an easy conversational style.  The book would have benefited from having a proof-reader.  I did get a bit annoyed that his story was interrupted by his experiences and pontificating about aspects of the health system.  I wanted to know more about attempts at diagnosis earlier in the book.  I admire his "taking charge" of his own rehabilitation and the successes he had, to the extent that he can now walk, carefully.  31/2/5

September Book Club

We had another very enjoyable time at Book Club last Monday evening.  All members were present, which was lovely.  Our host lives very close to me so getting there wasn't a big issue.  She made us welcome with a glass of champagne and we talked about lots of things including grandchildren.  One lady was thrilled that she will be a grandmother for the first time.  Another lady said she had a new granddaughter to add to her son's family which has a boy toddler.  Our host provided a delicious supper.  Once again I am unable to resist chocolate cake.  We had a number of new books which our host has added to our collection.  There are so many wonderful books and as I've said many times before - too many books, not enough time.