"There Was Still Love" by Favel Parrett

Read this book cover to cover in less than a day, then burst into tears at the end! It has been a long time since I read a book that was so deceptively simple yet beautifully written and heartbreaking like this one..and while I have been struggling to focus on the last couple of novels I started reading since the COVID-19 situation hit South Australia, this book brought back my reading mojo with a bang! The complete escape from thinking about COVID-19 for 4-5 hours today while I devoured this book was so welcome, and the tears at the end so cathartic. 

This is the story of two Czech sisters, Mana (and her husband Bill) living in Melbourne and Eva, living in Prague, often written from the perspective of their young grandchildren whom they are caring for in the 1980s. The story also frequently goes back in time to 1930s-70s in Prague and gives you snapshots from other family members perspectives. The simple tiny everyday moments, some joyful, some mundane, some heartbreaking,... the similarities and differences between these two women and their lives, are all beautifully captured and also made me thankful for so much that I have in life, while also forcing me to contemplate the roles of luck and resilience. The story also reinforces the importance of kindness and sacrifices, little or big, and the impact it makes.

Favel Parrett's writing is so beautiful and moving. I have enjoyed 2 other novels by this author over the years, "Past the Shallows" and "When the night comes", but "There was still love" is my favourite to date. I thoroughly recommend this author's work generally, and this book in particular.

Started reading: 26th April 2020
Finished: 26th April 2020
My score: 10/10
Aussie author stats: Female author, historical fiction.

Heart of the Grass Tree by Molly Murn

This book is the first I have read by the Australian author Molly Murn. It is an intergenerational historical fiction/drama set on South Australia's Kangaroo Island. Reading about the beautiful unique landscape of Kangaroo Island that is so well captured by Molly Murn was bitter sweet for me, as I was reading this book as devastating bushfires tore through and destroyed much of the spectacular Flinders Chase National Park on the island.

This book tells the stories of different female characters spanning the 1800s to the current day, with little side stories to give perspective from a couple of the male characters too. I found a couple of the stories really interesting and engrossing (those told by Maringani & William and Nell & Sol), but was not really captured by the stories of the more recent characters like Pearl and Diana and their immediate families. I think if the novel had focused more on Maringani and Nell's stories I would have scored this book much higher as I really enjoyed those parts of the book more. I also found it a bit confusing how the book was set out, some chapters clearly specified in the chapter heading which character was telling that part of the story, while others did not and instead had a location as the chapter heading. The sections told by the male characters did not seem to have chapter headings with their names in them either. I am not sure if there was a reason/pattern behind the choice of chapter heading styles and maybe I missed the subtlety of it.

I have heard that Molly Murn will be giving a talk at the Friends of the Barr Smith Library next month, so I am going to go to this and hopefully learn more of the history behind the novel and perhaps gain a better appreciation of the novel and it's structure too.

Started reading: 15th January 2020
Finished reading: 19th February 2020
My score: 6.5/10
Stats: Female author, Australian Author, New Author to me, Historical fiction and modern drama.

Photo taken by me in April 2019, on day 2 of hiking the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail

"Chasing the Light" by Jesse Blackadder

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 

"Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin

I don't intend to write much here about "Game of Thrones" since it has received a lot of attention lately due to being made into a TV series, and I'm sure most people already know quite a bit about it. Basically it is high fantasy, an epic story with many complex characters and plots woven through it. If you love Lord of the Rings or the Wheel of Time, chances are you will love Game of Thrones also. I have read the first two books in the series so far ('Game of Thrones' and "A Clash of Kings"), and thought they were both awesome. Initially it was a little hard to get to grips with who all the characters are and who they are related to etc, but if you get hold of a family tree it makes it a lot easier, and pretty soon you are so drawn into the story you have no trouble following. The chapters alternate between about 8 of the main characters (more are added in the 2nd book), which works really well. My favourite characters so far are Arya (the adventurous tom boy daughter of Ned Stark), Jon Snow (Ned Stark's bastard), Daenerys Targaryen (another strong female character) and Tyrion Lannister (the dwarf). I watched the DVDs of the TV version (series 1 and 2) after I read the books. The TV version is also excellently done and the first 2 series follow the first 2 books very closely, however, like most books turned into tv/film, the books are by far better and more complex and I'd recommend reading them first.

I read the first book in February, and the second in March 2013, both on my Kindle.

My scores:
Game of Thrones: 10/10 for Fantasy
A Clash of Kings: 9/10