Family Life

I enjoyed reading Family Life by Akhil Sharma which tells the story of a middle-class Indian family migrating to the USA in the late 1970s.  The narrator, Ajay, is in his early teens when he, his brother Birju and his parents leave their home to live in a different culture.  Everything is new and takes some adjusting.  Not long after their arrival "something" happens which has a powerful impact on all their lives.  Ajay goes to high school and experiences some bullying.  He becomes a good scholar and helps his parents.  The reader becomes very attached to Ajay and feels for him as he lives his sometimes difficult life.  There is love and tenderness shown in this story and the yearning for happiness.  When it comes, should it be embraced, or refused to someone more worthy.  4/5

July 2015 Book Club

We all had an enjoyable evening at our July Book Club.  It was an unusual occasion as we were all there.  During the last month some members have been overseas and interstate visiting relatives and/or enjoying the sights.  It was a bit chilly outside but wonderfully warm and welcoming in our hostess's home.  There was a lot of catching up to do with those were were absent last time and we heard about all they had been doing.  Some members are planning to head off for holidays to warmer parts in the next few months -

places like Spain, Cooktown, Cairns, Alice Springs.  We'll look forward to hearing about their travels next time.  Our hostess provided a delicious supper and she had bought a number of great books for us to read.  We always like hearing about the books we all have read so we know what to read next time.

Brother Of The More Famous Jack

I enjoyed Brother Of The More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido originally published in 1982, now revised edition with Foreword by Maria Semple.  It's the story of a teenage girl, Katherine, who goes to university and is taken to the home of her philosophy professor to meet his family - the Goldmans.  Professor Jacob Goldman has a wonderfully eccentric family and house which is nothing like anything Katherine had seen before.  Jake has a large and growing family with his wife Jane who seems always to be having children.    Katherine adjusts to this new environment quickly and is invited to stay for the weekend.  After that she often comes to stay and enjoys the quirky way the family relates to each other.  She falls in love with the eldest son and from there it really becomes her story as her life takes another turn, but then finally comes full circle.  I did not immediately like this book, but then it grew on me.  The Goldmans are outrageously wonderful.  The writing is warm and witty.  4/5

One Life - My Mother's Story

I very much enjoyed reading the memoir One Life - My Mother's Story by Kate Grenville.  I had seen the author interviewed on ABC1 about her book which she has written well after her mother died.  Her mother left behind exercise books with stories of her life.  The book is based on the information the author had and presented in a way that engages the reader as only a good writer can.  Nance was born in 1912 and lived till 2002 so her life spanned most of the 20th century.  I was thoroughly absorbed in Nance's life and her character.  Grenville says in her Prologue "My mother wasn't the sort of person biographies are usually written about. ... Just the same, I think her story is worth telling."  This speaks to me as an oral historian.  Most of the people I've interviewed reveal their otherwise unknown lives.  Highly recommended. 5/5

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules

I thoroughly enjoyed The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg which is set in Sweden (translated in 2013).  A group of pensioners, led by Martha, live in a retirement/nursing home and as the management continues to cut costs, the standard drops considerably.  The residents are not given buns with their coffee, and only three cups a day.  Martha has seen a movie about a prison and then believes they are better looked after than she and her friends are.  So she hatches a plan to commit a crime so they can go to prison.  This story is a delight, not to be taken seriously, has so many twists and turns as their inexperience as criminals makes for some interesting adventures.  The reader will think - how will they resolve this?  A lot of fun. 4/5

Bitter Wash Road

I very much enjoyed Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher which is set in the South Australian outback.  A young policeman, Paul Hirschhausen, is transferred to a small country town after he testified against corrupt police officers.  Hirsch's three new work colleagues are not impressed with having a "maggot" join them.  The officer-in-charge, Sergeant Cropp, treats him poorly, giving him the worst jobs.  The townspeople treat Hirsch with the same contempt they have for the other police officers, so it is a very lonely place at first.  Hirsch is called to investigate an apparent hit and run of a young girl and there are no suspects or evidence.  He later becomes acquainted with a dysfunctional family whose members have an effect on Hirsch's life.  While Hirsch investigates suspicious deaths, and other assorted crimes in the area, the townspeople develop a respect for him.  There are some twists and turns in this story which makes for a good crime story.  The author writes very well, uses wit and irony and times and I'm disappointed I haven't discovered this award-winning Australian writer before now. 41/2/5

Gray Mountain

I enjoyed Gray Mountain by John Grisham which begins in 2008 when the GFC is hitting Wall Street in New York.  Of course, this has a massive effect on the employment of thousands in the finance industry.  Many are desperately trying to get the few jobs that are left and even doing volunteer work out "in the sticks".  Samantha Kofer, a lawyer in a large firm elects to work in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia where large coal companies are destroying the environment as well as the lives of the miners.  A quick Google search shows this is a real and serious issue.  Sam works with a legal aid firm who takes on the mining companies and becomes involved with another lawyer who has a very personal grudge against them.  There are a number of cases that they work on in the story, not all with a just conclusion.  It's a good story and also disturbing to know that this is really going on. 4/5.