"When the night comes" by Favel Parrett

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.

"Gifts of the Peramangk" by Dean Mayes

I read "Gifts of the Peramangk" by Dean Mayes as part of the Aussie Author Challenge.It was recommended to me by a friend (Paula) who often suggests good books to me. She told me 'to do yourself a favour and read this book'. She was not wrong. This is a 10/10 book for me. It is set mostly in Adelaide, South Australia, where I am currently living, as so all the little details about locations, such as the Elder Hall on North Terrace and the environment here really connected with me.

The story is a mix of tragedy and heartwarming moments and achievements in the face of adversity. The story is split between two main narrators: Virginia - a young girl who is part of the 'Stolen' generation - taken from her mother without consent during the notorious White Australia Policy, - and her granddaughter Ruby. 

Virginia's life is mostly hell, in an orphanage and then as basically a slave on an outback property. The only bit of joy really in her life is when the wife of the brutal property manager secretly teaches her to play the violin a few hours per week when he is absent. Virginia obviously has a huge musical talent, but as events unfold in her tragic life she doesn't have the opportunity to follow up on her dreams and musical talent. Then enter Ruby, who discovers her grandmother's old violin and also has a gift for playing it. While also surrounded by contemporary issues of being disadvantaged, discriminated against, living in poverty and being caught up in domestic violence and crime, Ruby (with the encouragement of her grandmother) follows her musical dreams. While many dark and unhappy themes and events happen throughout the book, it is in the end uplifting and beautiful.

Started reading: 21st August 2014
Finished: 28th August 2014
My score: 10/10

"The Family Frying Pan" by Bryce Courtenay

I borrowed this audio book from the local library and listened to all 7 CDs over the course of the weekend. I really enjoyed it...and think I may even have appreciated it more as an audio book than if I had tried to read it myself, as the narrators did such a great job of bringing the characters voices to life, complete with Russian accents.

This is really a collection of short stories that are all woven together, and although I generally am not a huge fan of short stories, I really enjoyed this book and the way the different short stories all linked into the overarching story. The book follows a group of refugees trying to escape Russia during the time of Tsar Nicholas II, fleeing for different reasons and united only by chance and circumstances on the road. Each night when they gather around the fire and cook up whatever scraps they have managed to gather during the day for their meagre meal they take turns sharing their stories of their past lives and how they ended up where they are now. It's often heartbreakingly sad, but some of the stories are full of beauty and capture the very best as well as the worst of human nature. For anyone who has read it, the story of Cleopatra's cat is one of my favourites. Apart from enjoying listening to this tale, I also learned little snippets of interesting Russian history. I really like novels that have some aspects of truth and history embedded in them as it makes the stories more realistic and I also learn something at the same time. Bryce Courtenay's books always seem to be very well researched and full of little details from history... I don't think I've ever read a bad book by Bryce Courtenay and this was not an exception.

Started listening: 26th July 2014
Finished: 27th July 2014
My score: 8/10
Aussie Author Challenge stats: Male author, Fiction, Short (linked) stories, historical fiction.

"All that I am" by Anne Funder

Started reading on 21st July 2014 as part of the Aussie Author Challenge. My review will appear here once I've finished reading the book.

"The Undesirables" by Mark Isaacs

I am reading this book as part of the Aussie Author Challenge. It is a non-fiction book, written by an Australian who worked for the Salvation Army inside the Nauru detention centre providing humanitarian aid to the men interned in the camp. It is meant to be an eye witness account describing what really goes on behind the doors that our government seems to be doing it's best to keep closed to us. I'm quite disturbed by some of the recent accounts of how the Australian government is handling asylum seekers attempting to reach our country by boat, and this has prompted me to find out more, and to pick up this book, which I'm sure will not be light or easy reading.

I found this book to be compelling reading. I wish all Australians would read it, to gain insight into how our government has been (and still is) treating asylum seekers. This book does not lecture the reader in any way, it does not side with either the Labor or Liberal side of politics, it just provides a personal account of an aid worker in the Nauru detention centre over 5 separate rotations. The book is written in a style that is down-to-earth and easily relatable, with lots of explanations of policy, laws and rhetoric surrounding the Government's treatment of asylum seekers. The author brings to life the real human stories of many of the men detained indefinitely on Nauru, giving insight into different cultures, the horrors many were fleeing, the journey's they made in attempts to get to Australia, how desperate they were to even consider getting on one of those boats to seek asylum. It also details the often inhumane conditions they are being kept in, the despair of not knowing what their future holds, the mental illnesses arising from their treatment and living conditions, the riots, the hunger strikes, the suicide attempts. Yet it is not all depressing, the book is full of beautiful, poetic, heartbreaking moments, men finding joy in the most miniscule positive occurrences, the friendships formed between the detained men and the author.
For me, this book was gripping and I could barely put it down. Personally I am appalled at what I have discovered by reading this book, and am now actively looking into ways I can help asylum seekers or refugees in my community...or to advocate for fairer policies relating to their detention and processing. I can no longer in good consciousness turn a blind eye to what is being done by our Government to innocent and desperate people seeking our help.We are supposed to be the country where everyone gets a 'fair go', but nothing could be further from the truth for many of these asylum seekers.

Started reading: 16th July 2014
Finished: 21st July 2014
My score: 10/10

Here is a recent story in the Sydney Morning Herald about "The Undesirables" that you might also want to read. 

Aussie Author Stats: Male author, New author to me, Non Fiction genre, First published in 2014

"A Feast for Crows" by George R. R. Martin

I've got a pile of books I want to read, including some more for the Aussie Author Challenge, but the 4th series of Game of Thrones has arrived on Foxtel and I'm worried about hearing spoilers on facebook or at work. I really prefer to read the book first and let my imagination develop the characters, then enjoy the film version after...rather than watch the film version and let that impact on my imagination as I play catch-up on the book. So I've started the 4th book of Game of Thrones on my kindle tonight.

It's a big book. My review will appear here once I've finished the book. Could be a few weeks...

Started reading on my kindle: 5th June 2014
Finished: 16th July 2014
My score: 9/10

Another awesome and addictive book in the Game of Thrones series. I wont give much of a review as this is one of those series you either absolutely love, or absolutely are not interested in...if you are interested in complex, gripping fantasy worlds then you will love Game of Thrones, and really need to start at Book 1 and work your way through the series, while trying to avoid spoilers from friends/media/the tv series etc. My only frustrations with book 4 was the number of new characters that were introduced in the beginning of the book when I just wanted to connect back with my favourite characters to see what was happening to them....and then to find out the author had decided to just follow the story of half the main characters in book 4, and the other half will be followed in book 5. But really it's the sort of happy frustration caused by being immersed in a world so complex and realistic and full of characters that there just isn't enough room for them all in one book...now I'm torn as I want to leap straight into book 5...but since book 4 took me over a month to read, I should probably take a break and read something that contributes to the Aussie Author Challenge.

"Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones

Accidentally put my kindle into my checked in luggage this weekend when flying back from Sydney, so I splurged and bought a new book from an airport book store. I chose "Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones, a New Zealand author. I didn't know a lot about the book before I read it, but I vaguely remembered seeing a movie trailer for a film version of it that I thought looked good.

Mister Pip has an obvious connection with Charles Dickens "Great expectations", being the main character in that book. I'm a bit ashamed to admit I have never read "Great expectations", sometimes the classic books are a bit of a mission to read for me, but I am probably more likely to consider reading it now that I have read "Mister Pip". "Mister Pip" is not set in 1800s England, but rather in Bougainville, a tropical island during a (recent) time of horrific civil war. The book could be described as a fable, and it is told from a child/teenagers point of view - Matilda, who grew up in this island community. The children on the island attend a school, which is taught by the token White man on the island, Mr Watts, who appears to be a bit of a recluse and not really a teacher, but during times of civil unrest he is the best version of a teacher the community has. He starts reading "Great expectations" to the kids, and captures their imagination and helps give them some hope and focus in the midst of a time of insecurity, unrest and hardship. Then the soldiers and rebels enter the village, and things get even worse. I'm not sure if it's just me, or whether the story being told as a fable and expressed in the innocent words of a young girl made the impact more shocking and horrific, but some of the violent scenes that unfolded in the last 50 pages of the book absolutely shattered me. Without giving things away, it was unexpectedly tragic and horrific, even more so when described from the point of view of an innocent 15 year old girl.

It is clearly a very well written story, mostly uplifting, but with some severely horrific scenes scattered throughout. I felt pretty flat after the ending really. I think I will be remembering this book for a long time though.

Started reading: 1st June 2014
Finished: 5th June 2014
My score: 8.5/10