I read "When the night comes" by Favel Parrett as part of the Aussie Author Challenge. It is set in Hobart, Tasmania and also Antarctica during the 1980s, and features the 'great little ship' "Nella Dan". The "Nella Dan" is a real ship, one of four ships leased from a Danish shipping line and used by the Australian government during the 1950-1980s for various Antarctic trips. The story is mostly fictional, but with enough accurate details thrown in to make it realistic and believable.
It is hard to know how to describe this book and do it justice. It doesn't really have an in-depth story line, and mostly the characters are not fully fleshed out, yet this book really captured me on an emotional level. The chapters are mostly quite short, sometimes only 1-2 pages long, and are mostly told from the perspective of 2 main characters - Isla - a young lonely girl (primary school age I think) living in Hobart with her mother and her even younger brother, or Bo, a Danish sailor on board the "Nella Dan" who visits Hobart multiple times on route to Macquarie Island and the Australian Antarctic bases and befriends Isla and her family. The book doesn't really have a storyline in the usual way, but almost seems to be vignettes of powerful moments in Isla and Bo's lives, that when collected together build up a story. It is mostly very sad and raw, and I felt quite emotional reading parts of it, maybe this was partially due to many chapters being written in either a very down to earth (Bo) or alternatively a childlike voice (Isla), somehow at odds with the events being described. I don't know why I liked or was so emotionally affected by this book and I ended up with lots of unanswered questions, but I do recommend it.
"When the night comes" is the second book by the Australian author Favel Parrett (her first book was "Past the shallows"). I haven't read her first book, but I have added it to my 'to read' list as I am impressed with "When the night comes".
Started reading: 31st August 2014
Finished: 10th September 2014
My score: 8/10
Aussie Author Challenge stats: Female author, new to me, first published in 2014, genre: unknown. the back cover suggests it is 'Wintonesque' after Tim Winton, another Australian author.
This is the first book I have chosen to read as part of the Aussie Author Challenge for 2014.
According to the publishers it is "A fictional recounting of the little-known true story of the first
woman to ever set foot on Antarctica, and her extraordinary fight to get
there". http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/Chasing-Light-Novel-Antarctica-Jesse-Blackadder/?isbn=9780732296049
This is an historical novel, and I found it to be very interesting from the historical perspective of learning something about whaling in
Antarctic waters in the 1920-30s as I knew nothing about it really, despite being a supporter of anti-whaling campaigns in modern times. The
author (as part of her arts thesis) actually did a lot of historical
researching and quite a few little known details and facts of the first
women to land on Antarctica are embedded in this novel. However, being a
novel, there is lots of speculation and invented angles and
interpretations, hyped up romances etc. Some of the invented 'dramas'
irritated me, making me think 'really, are you, like, at high school, or in
your 30s?' even though I know some 'liberties' and 'equalities' we take for granted now were more taboo in the early 1900s.
Overall I enjoyed the book and feel like I now
know a little bit more about that slice of history involving Norwegian
whaling in the early 1900s in Antarctic waters and a little more of the adventures of the
first women to land in Antarctica. I recently saw a really interesting exhibition on Antarctica and Australian exploration of the continent at the South Australian Museum, and although I dont recall any mention of women explorers or adventurers in the exhibition, it was still fascinating. So if you live in or will be visiting Adelaide soon i recommend you visit the museum and check it out (it's free entry too).
"Chasing the Light" by Jesse Blackadder
Started reading on my kindle on 6th January 2014
Finished: 15th January 2014
My score: 7/10
Aussie Author Challenge Stats:
Male Author, New to me, First published in 2013 or 2014.
Genre: Historical fiction
