Lowly’s Book Blog

It has been a while since I finished this book, but I can still remember the sadness I felt when I realised the story was over. Some books are so good you want them to go on forever.

El and her family have had a serious lifestyle change, and not necessarily voluntarily. Father is gone, and the reader doesn’t find out how or why until nearly the end of the book. As a result money is tight. So gone is the big house, the private school, and all her old friends. The book begins when El enters the local secondary college for the first time. Culture shock!

But a smile from the school hottie, Eric, is enough to convince her that this new school will be OK. Sure he already has a girlfriend, but that can change can’t it? Meanwhile this strange guy Gaston keeps watching her.  And then Gaston gets put in her group for the geography project!

This book is real chick lit. Friendships, love interests, and family angst abound. It is also a coming-of-age tale as El starts to sort out her priorities in life. And the final couple of chapters are shattering.

I had real problems deciding whether to put this as upper or lower secondary. I wouldn’t promote it to year 7, but 8 or 9 would love it.

Many years ago, while multiple copies of a book by another author, Sonya Hartnett served me in a bookstore. As she processed my payment, she commented that her books never managed to sell as well. At the time, I had just started a book by her, and said so. I don’t think she believed me. But I love her writing, even though much of it seems beyond me at times.

This book is no different. On the surface it is a simple fable about love and the meaning of life. However, all the time I was reading it, I knew I was missing the point. Over the next few months I will hear others discuss this work. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was also listed on the CBC short list. I will dig out reviews and if I can find the time, read the book again to find what I missed.

So, on the surface, Maddie is an old lady who lives alone with her dog. Around her house she has all kinds of memoribilia of her life. One day a young boy arrives to visit, and over tea and eventually dinner, she tells him the story of her life.

Maddie was always looking for something different from life. She wanted life to be magical and mystical like in fairy tales. She was a only child, misunderstood by her peers, but very self-sufficient. She always had her dolls as friends, and even the local nargun offered sage advice. After she finished school her father took her on the traditional ‘Grand Tour’ like many other wealthy young people at the end of the 19th century. But when she returned to the mandatory matchmaking, she found possible beaux boring. That is until she meets Feather while walking on the beach.

This book reminded me so much of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas another fable written for adults. And even at times Hartnett’s The Silver Donkey. It was a tale told simply enough for any child. However, the richness of the story lies in the symbolism. This book wants to be studied not read.

Leonie Norrington is one of those perennial authors who always seems to be at conferences launching books. I have attended the book launch of all three of the books in the Barrumbi series, and until now avoided reading any of them. This book ended up at the bottom of the pile so often that it only got picked up a few weeks ago when I had nothing to read. I got a pleasant surprise. If I am ever in the position of nothing to read again, I just might pick up the rest of the series.

Fans of Norrington will know that much of her writing is based on her own upbringing in a mixed Aboriginal/European community in the Northern Territory. This book follows the children from the other books in the series as they move to boarding school in Darwin.

Dale cannot understand why this new school cannot comprehend that he and Tomias are brothers. Just because their skin is a different colour, and they have different parents, suddenly Dale cannot go away on fishing weekends with his friend. In fact he is hardly allowed to speak to him. This makes Dale, never one to hold his temper, lash out. And then Tomias takes up music, of all the silly things. And that new music teacher has it in for Dale. She has, right from the first time she sets eyes on him.

This books deals beautifully with the bittersweet changes that happen to kids as they approach adolescence. The reader can understand Dale as he runs to the only bit of bush he can see from the school. They agree with his help and support of the old couple that he finds there. He has to fight the council and prevent that bushland clearance. But Tomias is portrayed equally sympathetically. The girl he likes just happens to be the daughter of the Principal. He can’t help the fact that he is attracted by her music and then discovers an unknown talent. In spite of all that he still tries to help Dale, a known troublemaker.

I wonder if there will be any more about the Barrumbi kids. If so, the book won’t sit at the bottom of the pile for very long.

Last week I was asked for my predictions about the 2007 short list for CBC book of the year. At the time I came up blank, even commenting that I hadn’t finished the 2007 reading list, but nothing stood out from what I had read. As I was looking through the backlog of review titles, I realised that I lied.

First let me start by saying that I really don’t like Bill Condon’s writing. His first novel Dogs left me with nightmares, something that has never bothered me in 50 years of nighttime reading. No Worries worried me about the hopeless and unsatisfactory non-ending. But Dare Devils was an amazing read all the way through, and often I have tried to remember its title, the plot was so powerful it has stuck.

Jack gets saddled with showing the new kid around. How many students have to suffer that injury to their reputation? Jack has always been the misfit, ‘the bad haircut always looking the wrong way in school photos.’ But Thorns invites people to laugh at him. As the blurb says Thorns doesn’t ‘ want to live longer – [he wants] to live bigger.’ There is a reason for this. Thorns is seriously ill, and not likely to survive to adulthood, so he wants to do everything in his short life. Jack becomes his friend and co-conspirator.

This book is touching, sad and yet still uplifting and funny. The reader learns a big lesson about life, along with Jack. Some adults would question Jack and Thorns wisdom. Perhaps Thorns would have lived longer had he shown more caution. But somehow all of us are better people for encountering Thorns.

Bill Condon is a regular on the short list. But this year he deserves to be there.

Now to attack the backlog. In the past 5 months I have been reading madly, but never finding the time to review.

Ages ago I read this book, and really enjoyed it. OK so the plot is stale and the characters more like caricatures, but still…

This plot is simple to relate. Bad boy always in trouble finds purpose and redemption through the school musical. Really, that is it. Another one.

What rescues this book from mediocrity is the fact that some of the characters ring true. Will is not bad, he is just unthinking. Putting him in a leadership position forces him to grow up. Finally he learns that every decision has a consequence, and that is not a bad lesson to learn when one is young. Also the situations that Will finds himself in seem very natural, from mooning the girl’s school bus, to rescuing a year 7 from a rubbish bin. And by the way, I applaud the choice of musical. Many authors would choose something like West Side Story, or Evita nearly impossible for children to sing. Maria Boyd avoided that trap.

So in spite of the tired plot, this book was actually worth the time spent reading it.

My review bookstack has just hit 20 new unread titles. So today the discipline starts. And I chose a good book to begin with.

Before reading The Real Thing another book in what could loosely be called the Glenfield High series by this author, I had never heard of Brian Falkner. Now a websurf shows that he is one of New Zealand top young authors for young adults, and Walker Books released his titles into the Australian market just before Christmas last year. I received my copy in a package of reading for the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge.

It looked like The Super Freak was the second title in the series, so I left it for awhile. But I should know better than to trust publisher’s blurbs. In the last few chapters I noticed where the action of the two books overlapped, and Freak should have been first. But it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, the book is about a poor young boy who has been moved from one end of New Zealand to another while his father, an actor, chases work. He arrives for his first day at high school, and knows no one. Throughout his lonely first days he finds refuge in the library, starts to analyse his classmates and naturally comes up against the school bully. In desperation he begins to wish very hard that people would change their minds. And guess what? They do…

Suddenly Jacob starts to take control of his world. The English teacher sets an essay topic on knickers. The PE teacher lets his failure go unnoticed. With this new power, Jacob can do anything. A super-criminal is born. Months are spent planning, rehearsing and arranging his heist, robbing the school fete. Along the way he makes friends, discovers he is not alone, and even bests the bully. I can’t say much more without taking away the excitement of the story.

This book was surprisingly good. It arrived without fanfare. I had bought copies for the library just to keep new and fresh material available for the younger students. However, I will be promoting them enthusiastically from now on, especially for those year 7 boys who really can’t be bothered with something complex.

Is there anybody out there who has never heard of Lawrence of Arabia? If you have never heard of him stop reading now and go on to the next review.
Robert Ryan has imagined an incredible adventure to explain how Ned Lawrence, spy and mapmaker, moved out of the office and into the desert to become ‘Orrans’ enemy of the Ottoman Empire and advocate of Arab independence.

The book begins with Ned Lawrence working behind a desk in Cairo. In fact the book is mostly about Lawrence working in Cairo. Robert Ryan has created an incredibly complex backstory for this legendary character from World War I. At times I wondered if I was reading a biography. Very carefully, Ryan fills in details about how Ned learns to blend into the Arab culture at a time when most Englishmen were determined to have nothing to do with the filthy savages. He portrays Lawrence as a non-violent man but very observant and determined to see everything through to the end. There is also a secondary story about a German spy who is working in Persia with the Tangistani tribes. Eventually Lawrence leaves the desk and heads to Persia to stop this German.

The main characters really existed and eveyone is included, Gertrude Bell, Wassmuss, Faisal Hussein, as well as a full cast of English officers. However, the story is completely from Robert Ryan’s active imagination. This book has all the right details, secret codes, double crosses, abductions, impaling and other forms of murder, bandits, and even a biplane. Any regular reader of boy’s own adventures will find this story very familiar.

However, I have never been a regular reader of boy’s own adventures. Biggles and his like can stay on the shelf. So it took me ages to get involved in this book. But once Ryan moved out of Cairo and into the desert, and let the action happen, I was caught. I think I finished it sometime after midnight.

So my advice, keep going, you will be rewarded.

Every now and then I come across a book that refuses to be put in a neat little box. This is certainly one of them.

The front cover poses the question ‘If you could go back in time, you could change your world…’ This is a common theme in scifi, but this book is certainly not scifi. No this is far more about a man trying to fix a mistake.

But first the plot. Elliott is a successful surgeon. Each year he works a few weeks with Doctors Without Borders, fulfilling a need he has to help others. In the jungles of Cambodia, he treats a child with a cleft palate, and the greatful grandfather give him 10 pills. The good doctor assumes they are a herbal remedy, but takes them home anyway. He learns that the pills will take him back in about 30 years. He exists in that reality. He can interact with those he encounters, including himself as a younger man. However, the pills only last for a few minutes.

Elliott’s one great regret is that he broke a date with his great love one weekend. She, angry and upset, decides to work that weekend instead. Not thinking clearly, she makes mistakes and is killed. Elliott wants to convince the young doctor he once was to prevent that death. In fact, Elliott wants it all. He wants his girl alive, but he does not want to change history so greatly that the one night stand which gives him his beloved daughter never takes place. Confused? Just ask Star Trek fans about a time paradox.

Don’t get me wrong. This book is wonderfully written and tells it’s tale gently. The problem comes when the critic tries to summarise a complex plot for a short article. As the story unfolds, the changes are believable. And yes, all 10 pills are required. But somehow I wonder, if Elliott really was happy in the final draft of the story of his life.

I’ll look forward to more writing by this young French author.

Before I start, I’ll own up. I have never read a Stephen King novel before. Hard to believe isn’t it. An author that is so much part of popular culture, and I have never taken the time to read one of his books. My excuse is that I am really not into horror, and besides, Hollywood already promotes him, why should I?

And then my favourite editor handed me Duma Key.

But first the summary, if such a book can be summarised. Edgar is seriously injured in a workplace accident. His recovery is tough, and gradually his family concede defeat. After the divorce and regaining some mobility, Edgar rents a house in the Florida Keys as part of his rehabilitation. He loves the house and the beach, and as he is strengthening his legs by beach walking, he meets the neighbors and makes good friends. On the surface, that is the plot. But underneath lies a wonderful tale of supernatural powers, and ancient gods controlling life and death.

I loved the craftsmanship of the writing. Nearly half the book is Edgar and his changing life. It seems natural that he takes up painting to fill in time. With the life changing experiences he has had, it isn’t even too hard to imagine that he finds that he is pretty good. But somewhere within every chapter is just the tiniest hint that all isn’t what it appears. It is kind of like reading near a dripping tap. Every now and then a loud drop makes you uncomfortable. But you can’t put your finger on why.

And the climax is worth the time spent getting there. I keep returning to the theme that fantasy is stronger if it is based in our cultural roots. Persephone is an absolutely perfect choice for the story as presented. No one can doubt her power as the climax unfolds. The writing is simple, but holds intense imagery. The reader doesn’t even have to close his eyes to imagine the scene.

However, at times the book reminded me of The Dead Zone, at least as it is depicted on TV. Is the great Stephen King running out of ideas? Or am I selling him short because I haven’t yet actually read The Dead Zone. Someday, maybe, I’ll find the time.